People of Chittoor town must have been amused with Income Tax officials, as they carried out a raid at Raghu's residence, who is known as flower merchant in the locality.
Raghu alias Raguvaran has a flower supplying contract with the famous Varasiddi Vinayaka temple for the past 9 years.
On Tuesday evening, Income Tax officials raid on Raghu’s house in Chittoor town halted his flower business in temple town.
IT officials seized unaccounted cash of Rs 2.5 lakhs from his house in Chittoor town and Rs 1 lakh from JKR Kalyana Mandapam, in the temple town Kanipakam, owned by Raghu, in their simultaneous raids.
According to a top official, who headed the raids Raghu has allegedly not paid income taxes for the past nine years and has not been maintaining records of his revenue sources.
“We have also seized JKR Kalyana Mandapam which he has managed to construct approximately for Rs 3 crores without any loans from banks. But to hide from IT radar he later took a loan from Andhra Bank Kanipakam,” the official said.
Officials are yet to get approval from Tirupati Regional IT Commissioner to seize Raghu's properties in Chittoor valued at least Rs 5-6 crores.
Officials are probing how Raghu managed to have revenues and acquire properties worth crores. They are also scanning Raghu's relatives financial transactions in Kanipakam.
The IT official also told TNM, "Some of the properties including the Kalyana Mandapam are in the name of his wife Shankari. Gold ornaments, documents related to bank savings have also been collected.”
"His brother-in-law Shiva Shanmugam, from Kanipakam, will be probed to find whether he played any role in IT law violation,” the official added.
According to sources he has to pay Rs 1.5 crores as income tax as per the revised IT laws.
Officials from Kanipakam Varasiddi temple management board refused to comment on Ragu's flower contract with the temple .