In an obvious attempt to tighten the noose around the necks of Telangana Rashtra Samithi bigwigs, the Income Tax department on Tuesday began searches at the residence and offices of the promoters of prominent real estate company Vamsiram builders in Hyderabad.
According to the police, the Income Tax department authorities swooped on the residences of Subba Reddy, chairman of Vamsiram Builders and his brother-in-law Janardhan Reddy at Road No. 45 in Jubilee Hills and conducted raids.
In all, raids have been taken up in as many as 15 places. It is learnt the I-T department authorities are also targeting the residence of Devineni Avinash, who is presently in YSR Congress party.
There were reports in the past that a prominent family of the top TRS leadership has benami investments in Vamsiram Builders, who grabbed precious lands in the heart of Hyderabad in prime locations like Banjara Hills using fabricated documents, taking advantage of the litigations.
Obviously, the latest I-T raids are believed to be part of the Central government’s attempt to strike at the financial roots of the TRS ahead of the next year’s assembly elections.
The raids on Phoenix group and other prominent infra groups like Sumadhura, Vasavi and Sahithi, who are learnt to be the major financiers to the ruling TRS, are part of the Centre’s onslaught on Telangana.
The I-T searches on minister Ch Malla Reddy’s institutions and the investigation by the CBI and the ED in Delhi liquor scam are clear indications of the Modi government’s strategy.
More such raids are expected to unfold in the coming days, sources said.
