On March 4, The Income Tax department (IT dept) conducted raid on properties linked to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, actress Taapsee Pannu and others continued for the second day. The Income Tax department started carrying out raids on 22 locations on March 3 on the properties linked to Kashyap, Pannu, Vikas Bahl, filmmaker Madhu Mantena and others in Mumbai, Pune and other locations. The raids are in connection to the allegation of tax evasion by Kashyap’s Phantom Films that was dissolved in 2018.

As per the reports, properties linked to Shibhashish Sarkar (CEO of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Entertainment), Afsar Zaidi (CEO Exceed) and Vijay Subramaniam (CEO Kwan talent management agency) were also searched by the IT department.

In a major development on Thursday, the Income Tax Department has informed that they suspect actress Taapsee Pannu of deleting ‘some data’ from her phone, reported India Today. The development comes a day after the IT Department conducted raids at her house and office.

India Today reported that the IT officials are now taking the help of experts to recover the deleted data. Moreover, the central agency found that the mobile data of director Anurag Kashyap, whose properties were also raided by the IT Department, was also

deleted after the crackdown of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on several Bollywood actors and directors after the untimely death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Reportedly, Taapsee Pannu and her company are also suspected of tax evasion of Rs 25 crores. Taapsee’s endorsement deals and film signing amounts are under the I-T scanner. Some of the film signing amounts are under crores. The actress’s preliminary statement was recorded on March 3.

The IT officials have also found that the filmmaker Anurag Kashyap had suppressed his erstwhile company’s income – Phantom films, compared to the actual collections. The IT officials said there was a discrepancy in the income to the tune of around Rs 600 crore.

As IT officials carried out their usual raids on the tax fraud suspects, the left-liberals and the media establishment descended on the social media platforms to cry foul over the same. Attacking the centre, the liberals described the searches as an attempt to suppress the voices of those who speak against the Narendra Modi-led government.

According to the liberals, the raids against controversial actress Taapsee Pannu, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and other business associates were nothing but a vendetta for raising issues against the Modi government. It is pertinent to note that both Pannu and Anurag Kashyap have a history of peddling half-truths and misleading information on social media about several issues ranging from CAA to the farm laws.

Anurag Kashyap’s accounts were sealed in 2013 over service tax evasion

In contrast to the claims of liberals that the raids against Anurag Kashyap and others are the Modi government’s way of targeting its critics, details have emerged to prove that the filmmaker has been accused of evading tax much before the Modi government assumed power. Anurag Kashyap, who is in the soup for not declaring his income and allegedly indulging in tax fraud, was also accused of tax evasion under the previous UPA government in 2013.
Interestingly, there was no hue and cry by the same set of ‘liberals’ back in 2013, when the UPA government had accused him of evading taxes.

Social media users point out the hypocrisy of liberals, calls Anurag Kashyap a ‘habitual tax offender’

Responding to a question at a press conference in Delhi, Union minister Prakash Javadekar rejected allegations that the raids against Kashyap and Pannu were linked to their comments, which are seen at times critical of the BJP.

"This is too much," he said to the question. "Probe agencies undertake investigations based on credible information and the matter later goes to courts as well," he added.
In Maharashtra, the debate intensified with state minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik describing the searches as an attempt to suppress the voices of those who speak against the Narendra Modi-led government.

"Central agencies like ED, CBI, and Income Tax are being used to target those who take an anti-government stand and speak against the policies of the regime," the minister told reporters in Mumbai.

"The premises of Anurag Kashyap and Pannu have been raided. Both were raising their voices against the Modi government," he said.

Pannu’s last tweet was on March 1, when she spoke on the Supreme Court asking a man accused of repeated rape whether he was willing to marry the woman. When the court was told he is already married, he was asked to seek regular bail from the concerned court. The 33-year-old actor, known for her films “Pink", “Thappad" and “Badla", put out a strong worded post on the matter. Kashyap, who had visited JNU and Shaheen Bagh during the anti-CAA protests last year and is known to be equally outspoken on a range of issues, has been quiet on Twitter in recent times except for occasionally retweeting others.

References:

OpIndia