I-T issues notices to EPS, OPS over info from Sekar Reddy's diary

Chennai

The Income Tax department has issued notices to theformer Tamil Nadu ministers, including former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamiand ex-deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, and MLAs based on findings aboutkickbacks in infamous Sekar Reddy diary.

Businessman Sekar Reddy was the partner of the SRS Mining company, where the I-Tdepartment carried out surprise check immediately after demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs1 ,000 in the year 2016.
During the searches, the I-T officials had seized huge quantity of gold, largeamount of demonetised currency as well as fresh notes of Rs 2,000 from variouspremises linked to him.
An I-T official clarified that it was a part of the routine procedure. “The investigationunit has completed a detailed investigation and the files were sent to thecentral range office,” he said.
The notice has been issued to respond within 10 days of time to clarify if theyadmit to having received the money or not. An I-T official said, “If theyaccept, they would be treated as a benami and they would have to face aseparate case under the the Benami’s Act. If they didn’t accept it, theofficials would produce the proof of documents they had collected tocorroborate it. Then it will be decided whether to prosecute them under Benami Actor Income Tax Act," sources said.
The I-T officials would recommend further action based on the proofs they havecollected against each and every person named in the case.
It may be noted that Sekar Reddy had claimed that he did not pay money toanyone as per the statements recorded by the Income Tax department.