Income Tax officials today raided/ searched properties linked to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actor Taapsee Pannu in Mumbai over alleged tax evasion, sources said. Both are being questioned by income tax officials in Pune.
Searches took place at 30 locations in Mumbai and Pune, including premises linked to a talent agency as well as Phantom Films, which was co-promoted by Anurag Kashyap, producers Vikas Bahl and Madhu Mantena.
Also, Anurag Kashyap or Tapasee Pannu are not only into film business but are also included in various other businesses.
It is important to note that search is conducted by Income tax department u/s 132 of the Income tax act only when they have some information against the assessee/ taxpayer that he/ she has evaded tax.
It is not the first time Income tax department has conducted searches, in last few months Income tax department has conducted various searches which they regularly update on their twitter account.
Further, it is not the first time that an actor has been raided earlier this year Income tax had conducted search on South superstar Vijay. However, one more theory which is being circulated is that central government is conducting such raid/ search against the people who speak against the government.
Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu are outspoken critics of the government and have lent their voice to various causes, including the ongoing farmer protests against central laws. Recently, Ms Pannu had criticised the show of solidarity by celebrities towards the government in response to pop star Rihanna’s post drawing attention to the farmers’ agitation.
Maharashtra slammed the tax raids, saying Mr Kashyap and Ms Pannu were being targeted because of their views. “The way in which raids were conducted in the homes and offices of Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu, this is definitely the usage of Enforcement Directorate or the Income Tax against those who take a stand against the government or its policies. Anurag Kashyap and Tapasee Pannu have raised their voice against the Modi government’s policies. This action is an attempt to suppress their voices,” Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav called the raids a “condemnable act” and slammed the centre. “They first employed IT, CBI, ED to conduct raids on vocal and upright political rivals for their character assassination. Now Nazi govt is chasing social activists, journalists & artists to threaten them against calling spade a spade,” the Bihar politician tweeted.
Anurag Kashyap had been vocal about condemning the violence against anti-Citizenship Act protesters in 2019. Last year, he had expressed support for actor Rhea Chakraborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case and had slammed Bollywood actors for not speaking up enough on the case.
Now there are stories from both end and searches are being conducted every year by Income tax department but since this time it is being conducted on public figures it is gathering some media attention.
