Income-tax teams crack down on rice traders in Gaya and Aurangabad

Gaya/Aurangabad: Income-tax department teams on Thursday carried out search operations at the residential and business premises of rice traders in Gaya and Aurangabad as part of ongoing investigations into alleged financial irregularities and suspected disproportionate assets.

In Gaya, two separate teams of the income-tax department raided the residential and business premises of two rice dealers in the Manpur and Purani Godam localities. Department officials declined to disclose details of the operation or any recoveries made during the searches. However, sources said the raids were linked to suspected financial wrongdoing and the acquisition of assets disproportionate to known sources of income.


The searches were continuing till the time of reporting with officials scrutinising account books, transaction records and other relevant documents. Property details of the two businessmen were also under special examination. Sources said the rapid rise of the businessmen on the property ladder and the scale of their financial transactions within a relatively short period had drawn the attention of tax authorities.

Income-tax officer Dhiraj Kumar said he was not in a position to comment on the matter. Reacting to the raids, Central Bihar Chamber of Commerce patron Kaushalendra Pratap said, “The department is doing its job and there is nothing wrong in it.”

In Aurangabad, the income-tax department conducted raids at the residential and business premises of rice trader Vishwajeet Jaiswal. A team of income-tax officials from Jharkhand, accompanied by police personnel, began the search operation early in the morning at his residence in the New Area locality. The operation continued till late evening.

Aurangabad income-tax officer Ranjit Kumar said the raid was carried out by a team from Jharkhand and that detailed information about the findings was not available at the local level.

Sources associated with the raiding team said the department was probing a major rice trader based in Jharkhand and that Jaiswal was a business partner in the venture. As part of the same investigation, simultaneous verification and scrutiny were conducted at the Aurangabad premises.

Jaiswal said the action was a routine income-tax survey. “All required documents and records have been provided to the officials, and I am fully cooperating with the department,” he said.