The income tax (I-T) department has seized various properties worth around ₹1,000 crore across Maharashtra, Delhi and Goa which are linked to Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and his family members, according to officials on Tuesday.
The attached properties include a cooperative sugar factory, Nirmal Tower at Mumbai’s iconic Nariman Point, and a resort, the officials said.
“Ajit Pawar and (his) family are the “beneficiaries of the above Benami properties,” said sources in the Income Tax Department that had invoked the Anti-Benami Act as there had been allegations that the properties were bought illegally.
The I-T department made the raids after discovering an unaccounted income of about ₹184 crore last month during the massive search operation. Last month, tax searches were conducted at the houses and firms owned by Pawar’s sisters.
“We pay taxes every year. Since I am the Finance Minister, I am aware of fiscal discipline. All entities linked to me have paid taxes,” the 62-year-old NCP leader said last month.
