I-T dept raids Hiranandani group locations

The Income Tax department on Tuesday conducted searches at 20 locations of real estate major Hiranandani group in Mumbai and other cities in connection with alleged tax evasion.

"We have conducted simultaneous searches at many locations of the group in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad," an Income Tax source said in Mumbai.

Searches were also conducted at the residential premises of top company officials, the source said.

The source said some documents of accounts and transactions have been seized in the operation that was underway several hours after it started.

When contacted, a spokesperson of the Mumbai-based

Hiranandani Group refused to comment on the matter.

Sources said some alleged mismatch on Tax Deducted at Source receipts related to payments made were also being verified during the operations.

Hiranandani group is a major real estate player in Mumbai with its flagship post project located in Powai.

Recently, the group's co-founder Niranjan Hiranandani had filed a suit against his daughter Priya seeking to restrain the usage of name 'Hiranandani' in her business.

Some years back, the CBI had also raided the offices and other premises of Hiranandani Builders for alleged provident fund evasion of to the tune of Rs 168 crore (Rs 1.68 billion).