With the I-T department’s crackdown on corrupt individuals across the country, a Karnataka government official is now trying to get away from the taxman by using the law.
I-T sleuths had carried out a raid last week in which Rs 5.7 crore of new currency was found at the flat being used by the son of KC Jayachandra, the Chief Project Officer of the State Highways Development Authority.
Subsequently a CBI inquiry was also launched against Jayachandra and he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, media reports suggest.
However, Jayachandra allegedly told his investigators that the flat where the money was found did not belong to him and hence the money was not his, Bangalore Mirror reported.
The flat, located in tower 5, Pebble Bay, Raj Mahal Extension, is registered under another accused in the same case - a civil contractor named Ibrahim Shareef, the report said.
It also stated that I-T officials are under the impression that the flat in question was registered under Shareef’s name by Jayachandra as a proxy property.
Shareef is at large and Jayachandra’s claim will become clear only after the former’s arrest.
Of the total Rs 5.7 crore recovered from Jayachandra, Rs 5 lakh was found in Jayachandra’s own flat and the rest was found in Shareef’s apartment, the Mirror report said. Two contractors involved in the scam were also arrested, which is how the I-T sleuths uncovered the existence of Jayachandra’s cash stash, the report added.
The CBI sleuths are still looking out for Shareef who is said to have been one of the key players in the racket, the report stated.
A notice has been pasted on the house with Shareef’s name. This is to identify if he is the real owner or if he had rented out the flat to someone else. Shareef’s association with Jayachandra and Jayachandra’s role in the property is yet to be ascertained, the Mirror report said.
“Jayachandra tried a lot to convince Shareef to own up to the cash but he refused to do so. Jayachandra even promised him help in the future as a government official. When Shareef refused, he tried this trick and told I-T, ED and CBI officials that he doesn’t have any connection with the flat at Pebble Bay and the currency seized from it,” an officer who is part of the investigation told Bangalore Mirror.
Jayachandra’s son Thrijesh stayed in Shareef’s flat and when I-T sleuths landed at his doorstep, he refused to open the door for quite a while. Apart from Thrijesh, some politicians also frequented the apartment, the report said.