Nirmala Sitaraman Says Taapsee Pannu And Others Were Raided In 2013 As Well

Anurag Kashyap Taapsee Pannu IT raid: The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman gave her statement on the I-T raids conducted on Taapsee Pannu, Anurag Kashyap and other members of now-dissolved production company Phantom Films.

Sitaraman refrained from commenting on specific cases calling the raids a part of 'national interest' in case of alleged evasion. Although she did say, "The same names were raided in 2013, wasn't an issue then, It's an issue now". Sitaraman gave this statement while speaking to a journalist from the Indian Women's Press Corps. Sitaraman didn't talk about the outcome of the 2013 raids.

As the questions asked to her pointed out the timing of the raids as both Pannu and Kashyap have been staunch critics of the BJP government. To which Sitaraman said, "I don't know. I am not commenting on a particular case. But if that relates to particular names I want to ask - should we raise questions whether there was a serious omission and commission or should we raise a question about 'oh it's happening now'?. She added, "Please look back, it happened in 2013.

The Income Tax Department carried out raids in almost 30 locations in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Delhi. Homes of Anurag Kashyap, Taapsee Pannu and others including their offices were raided. The tax department later released its findings and according to that almost ₹300 crore worth of income suppression wad found with Anurag Kashyap including "bogus/irrelevant expenditures" which raised issues. The IT department also linked Pannu's name and said that a cash receipt of ₹5 crore was recovered from Taapsee Pannu and which showed irregularities.

The raids were conducted on the members of the now-defunct production house Phantom Films and talent management companies KWAN and Exceed. The Income Tax Department on March 3 began raids on the homes and offices of Pannu and Kashyap as well as his partners, who launched the now-shuttered production house Phantom Films.

The searches, part of a tax evasion probe against Phantom Films, carried out across 30 locations in Mumbai and Pune, also covered Reliance Entertainment group CEO Shibhasish Sarkar and some executives of celebrity and talent management companies KWAN and Exceed. Read more about the findings of the IT department here.