The Income Tax officers on Sunday conducted raids at the residence and other premises of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Praveen Kakkad on charges of tax evasion. The Income Tax officers launched searches on at least 50 locations in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Goa.
According to sources the raids were conducted by a team of officials at Kakkad’s residence in Vijay Nagar area in Indore and other places associated with him. They said that documents seized during the searches were being scrutinised in detail. The Income Tax officers arrived from Delhi.
They said that locations in Indore, Bhopal and Delhi (Green Park) are being raided and those being searched include Kamal Nath’s former OSD Pravin Kakkar, former advisor Rajendra Miglani and executives linked to his brother-in-law’s firm Moser Bayer and his nephew Ratul Puri’s Company.
It is remarkable that Praveen Kakkad is a former Madhya Pradesh police officer and he was appointed OSD to Nath after the Congress-led government came to power in the state last year. He had earlier served as OSD to former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria during the UPA regime. Kakkad’s family is associated with a number of businesses, including hospitality.
The searches are linked to suspected movement of hawala money during the ongoing polls season and tax evasion,. Ratul Puri was last week grilled by the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi in connection with the Rs 3,6000 AgustaWestland helicopter scam.
