IT Dept Sleuths Raid ‘Auto Raja’ Subramani’s Rs 1.6 Cr Villa- Benami Dealing Suspected
Bengaluru: Income Tax Department sleuths recently conducted search and seizure operations at a posh villa in a gated community in Whitefield owned by an auto driver, who has never filed returns till date. Sources said Subramani came on the I-T radar for buying the house in Jatti Dwarkamai Villas, Whitefield. He purchased the Rs 1.6 crore villa by paying cash, sources said. Unconfirmed reports also point to a large cache of cash seized from the villa. However, I-T officials were not available for comment.
“The auto driver could not have bought the villa by his means and is now suspected to be a Benami for another person,” said the source. Preliminary investigation revealed that he was closely associated with a few politicians and probe is on to identify whose Benami he is, sources said. The Income Tax Department has registered a case under Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.
Meanwhile, a section of the media reported that Subramani was linked to Arvind Limbavali, general secretary of State BJP and MLA of Mahadevapura, the Assembly constituency where the villa is located. Pictures of them together were shown on some television channels. However, Limbavali was quick to deny any links to the auto driver and demanded a fair probe into the case. “I am in no way linked to Subramani. We participated in a function some years ago. Reports linking him to me are malicious. I have always filed my returns and declared property details with the Lokayukta every year. I demand a fair probe by the I-T department,” Limbavali said.
He claimed that the huge cache of cash (Rs 7.9 crore) was recovered from the villa that was raided. However, there is no independent confirmation on the recoveries made during the raids. In the meantime, it is also learnt that Subramani came in contact with a foreign lady named Laurie, who runs a school for children with special needs in Bengaluru. Sources reveal that Subramani used to ferry Laurie every day from her house to the school and back. She was very impressed with Subramani’s humility and service and took pity on his paltry living. So she decided to ‘GIFT’ him a decent shelter and bought him a villa, where she lives with his family. He, however, continues to drive the auto-rickshaw.
But the IT-officials still raided Subramani’s villa and searched extensively for relevant documents to prove positive for all the assets Subramani owned.
Inputs from The Hindu-Bengaluru
