I-T raids conclude on Rana’s premises

Sleuths of the Income Tax Department finally left the premises of Kapurthala MLA and sugar baron Rana Gurjeet Singh after conducting raids for five consecutive days.

Advertisement

The raids started on February 6 at 35 locations linked to the Rana family, including those in Kapurthala, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. While raids concluded at some places yesterday, the I-T officials left the remaining premises this morning.

Officials said they seized over Rs 1 crore cash and some jewellery. They said they had sealed about 25 lockers of the family that shall be checked in due course. They hinted that they also seized documents related to properties and business firms that would be examined in details to check any violations.

After the raids, Rana Gurjeet Singh held a media interaction where he claimed that his business, politics and public life were very clean and transparent. He said it was normal for any business family to keep Rs 16-17 lakh at home. “Since 35 places were being raided, including our mills, the cash got added up as it included our working capital for day-to-day needs,” he said.

On why the raids continued for five days, he said, “The officials obviously took more time as they could not find anything much substantial. They were also under pressure to discover more for they were accountable before their higher ups.” He, however, stressed that he and his family fully cooperated with the raiding team.

On being asked whether he believed it to be motivated, he said, “I am not in a habit to remain in complaint mode. I do not want any sympathies. Anyhow, the raids made me more popular.” Later, Rana also issued a written statement to the media.