Documents show nexus between contractors and Sena leader, says income tax dept

It claimed to have collected particulars of about three dozen immovable properties worth over about ₹130 crore either in the name of Jadhav or his associates

Mumbai:The Income Tax department on Thursday said it has seized documents allegedly showing nexus between contractors and Shiv Sena’s Yashwant Jadhav, who heads Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s standing committee.

Yashwant Jadhav. (HT PHOTO)

It claimed it has collected particulars of about three dozen immovable properties worth over about ₹130 crore either in the name of Jadhav and his associates. The department said it found evidence of their involvement in international hawala transactions.

The agency said in the case of contractors, the seized documents show the modus-operandi adopted for large-scale suppression of taxable income by inflating their expenses. “For this purpose, the prominent recourse is over-invoicing of sub-contract expenses through a maze of entities and by claiming non-genuine expenses. Certain instances show that cash has been taken out from these entities and the same has been utilized for obtaining undue favours for awarding of contracts and also for making unaccounted payments for investments in properties,” the agency said in a statement.

It cited the preliminary investigation and added it indicates the contractors’ evaded income of about ₹200 crore on account of the malpractices.

Jadhav’s committee approves proposals involving expenditures over ₹50 lakh by BMC, which is one of the richest civic bodies in the country with an annual budget of over ₹45,000 crore.

The income tax department conducted raids in Mumbai from February 25 to February 28 including at Jadhav’s Mazgaon residence. Jadhav’s wife, Yamini, is a ruling Shiv Sena legislator from Byculla. Residences of half a dozen contractors were also raided.

The raids were conducted after the Enforcement Directorate arrested Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik last week. The arrest escalated tensions between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena-led ruling coalition, which has blamed the Centre for using its agencies against the state government.