CRPF, MP Police Clash in Bhopal as I-T Raids on Kamal Nath's Aide Continue, Cong Smells Conspiracy
When local police reached the spot, the I-T team closed the door from inside with help of CRPF officials.
Indore: Central Reserve Police (CRP) personnel stand guard during Income Tax officials' raid at the premises of Praveen Kakkar, OSD to MP Chief Minister Kamal Nath, in Indore, Sunday, April 7, 2019. (PTI Photo)
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In unusual scenes, Madhya Pradesh police and CRPF personnel were caught on camera having heated arguments during Income Tax (I-T) raids at chief minister Kamal Nath’s close aid Praveen Kakkar's residence on Sunday evening.
With reports coming in that Rs 10 crore cash being seized in the raids, local police officials attempted to enter the residential complex in the evening by arguing that residents from the raided complex were giving frantic calls to police asking them to help them move in and out of the complex.
When local police reached the spot, the I-T team closed the door from inside with help of CRPF officials. A team of around 15 income tax officials from Delhi had reached the residence of Kakkar, a close aide of Nath, in Vijay Nagar of Indore at 3am for the raid. A showroom in the same colony and some other properties were also searched.
For the pre-dawn searches, the I-T department had roped in the armed personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to keep a vigil. Generally, the I-T department takes the help of the local police during such operations but they were not included in this case.
Pradeep Kumar, a CRPF official, alleged that the Madhya Pradesh Police wasn't letting them work. "The local police is hurling abuses at us. We're only following orders of our seniors. Seniors have asked us to not let anybody in. Proceedings are on, that’s why we're not letting anybody in; only performing our duty," said the official.
Defending their move, Bhupinder Singh, City SP, said, "We've nothing to do with Income Tax & the ongoing raid. It's a residential complex, there are people inside who need medical assistance, they are calling the local SHO for help. They have closed the entire complex because of raid."
According to some sources, Rs 20 crore was delivered allegedly to one of Congress officials on Saturday at 4pm. Based on this information, a person named Muin is currently being searched by IT department in Geeta Colony.
IT sources have also claimed that Hawala channels were being used for delivery of the cash.
“We have evidence that huge amount of money was collected from Madhya Pradesh based business houses for elections,” I-T sources said.
DG of IT Harish Kumar, while speaking to CNN-News18, alleged police interference and added that he will raise the issue of ‘police interference’ with the Election Commission and pursue the case legally. Additional CRPF forces were also rushed after reports of local police reaching the complex arrived.
A former Madhya Pradesh police officer, Kakkad was appointed the OSD to Nath after the Congress-led government came to power in the state last year.
He resigned from the post just before the Lok Sabha polls were announced. Kakkad had earlier served as the OSD to former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria during the UPA rule.
The raids are likely to trigger another political slugfest ahead of the elections as Kakkar is a very close aide of Kamal Nath. The Congress and other opposition parties have repeatedly accused the ruling BJP at the Centre of misusing government agencies to target its rivals.
With reports coming in that Rs 10 crore cash being seized in the raids, local police officials attempted to enter the residential complex in the evening by arguing that residents from the raided complex were giving frantic calls to police asking them to help them move in and out of the complex.
When local police reached the spot, the I-T team closed the door from inside with help of CRPF officials. A team of around 15 income tax officials from Delhi had reached the residence of Kakkar, a close aide of Nath, in Vijay Nagar of Indore at 3am for the raid. A showroom in the same colony and some other properties were also searched.
For the pre-dawn searches, the I-T department had roped in the armed personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to keep a vigil. Generally, the I-T department takes the help of the local police during such operations but they were not included in this case.
Pradeep Kumar, a CRPF official, alleged that the Madhya Pradesh Police wasn't letting them work. "The local police is hurling abuses at us. We're only following orders of our seniors. Seniors have asked us to not let anybody in. Proceedings are on, that’s why we're not letting anybody in; only performing our duty," said the official.
Defending their move, Bhupinder Singh, City SP, said, "We've nothing to do with Income Tax & the ongoing raid. It's a residential complex, there are people inside who need medical assistance, they are calling the local SHO for help. They have closed the entire complex because of raid."
According to some sources, Rs 20 crore was delivered allegedly to one of Congress officials on Saturday at 4pm. Based on this information, a person named Muin is currently being searched by IT department in Geeta Colony.
IT sources have also claimed that Hawala channels were being used for delivery of the cash.
“We have evidence that huge amount of money was collected from Madhya Pradesh based business houses for elections,” I-T sources said.
DG of IT Harish Kumar, while speaking to CNN-News18, alleged police interference and added that he will raise the issue of ‘police interference’ with the Election Commission and pursue the case legally. Additional CRPF forces were also rushed after reports of local police reaching the complex arrived.
A former Madhya Pradesh police officer, Kakkad was appointed the OSD to Nath after the Congress-led government came to power in the state last year.
He resigned from the post just before the Lok Sabha polls were announced. Kakkad had earlier served as the OSD to former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria during the UPA rule.
The raids are likely to trigger another political slugfest ahead of the elections as Kakkar is a very close aide of Kamal Nath. The Congress and other opposition parties have repeatedly accused the ruling BJP at the Centre of misusing government agencies to target its rivals.