Hyderabad (The Hawk): For the second day in a row on Wednesday, the Income Tax agency kept searching the residences and workplaces of Telangana Labour and Employment Minister Malla Reddy and his family.
The minister, his sons, son-in-law, other family members, and top executives of several institutions owned by the Malla Reddy Group were all subject to simultaneous searches at their residences.
The searches were being conducted by more than 50 teams in various areas of Hyderabad and the nearby Medchal Malkajgiri district.
Since early Tuesday, there have apparently been 200 I-T employees from the tax evasion wing participating in the searches. According to reports, the searches turned up some crucial papers and unaccounted cash worth Rs 8 crore.
By Wednesday evening, the IT department should release a statement regarding the searches and the seizure.
Several of Malla Reddy's institutions allegedly have tax cheating going on, according to sources. Additionally, there are claims that seats from the convener quota in the Malla Reddy engineering, pharmacy, and medical institutions were improperly distributed. The bank accounts utilised for these seats' transactions were under investigation by the IT staff.
The homes of the minister, his sons Mahendra and Bhadra Reddy, son-in-law M. Rajasekhar Reddy, and brother Gopal Reddy, who is the head of the CMR group of institutions, were being searched by I-T sleuths.
Allegations regarding Malla Reddy and his family's alleged real estate dealings over the past few years are being looked into by the I-T department.
According to reports, Malla Reddy, who owns Malla Reddy University and oversees a number of professional colleges, has also invested in shopping centres, gas stations, and a number of different pieces of land.
Family members of the minister hold prominent positions in the educational groups that manage the universities. The vice president of CMR Educational Society, Malla Reddy Educational Society, Chandramma Educational Society, and St. Martin's Educational Society is Malla Reddy's wife, Kalpana Reddy.
(Inputs from Agencies)