PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, January 29: The Income Tax Department on Thursday carried out extensive raids at more than 15 locations linked to the Baba Rice Mill Group across Jharkhand, including Ranchi, Hazaribagh and Jamshedpur.
The action followed specific intelligence inputs related to alleged tax evasion, suspicious financial transactions and possession of assets disproportionate to known sources of income, official sources said.
Searches in Ranchi
In Ranchi, Income Tax teams conducted searches at the Baba Rice flour and rice mill plant located in the Bandheya area under the Piska Nagri Police Station jurisdiction.
Officials were seen examining machinery, stock registers, bill books, computer systems and digital records. Simultaneously, another team carried out searches at a separate Baba Rice plant in the Bandh Toli area of Nagri.
Strict security arrangements were enforced at both sites, with entry and exit permitted only with official authorisation.
Operations in Jamshedpur
In Jamshedpur, the Investigation Wing of the Income Tax Department intensified operations at a residential premises located on Circuit House Road No. 3 under Bistupur Police Station area.
The premises—Bungalow No. 33C—is reportedly linked to businessman Manoj Choudhary. Officials scrutinised financial documents, bank account details and other key records at the site.
Parallel Raids in Hazaribagh
Simultaneous search operations were also conducted in Hazaribagh, where multiple teams searched premises associated with the Baba Rice Mill Group and examined relevant business and financial documents.
Police forces were deployed at all locations to maintain law and order during the operation.
Investigation Ongoing
Sources said the department is currently analysing the group’s accounts, bank transactions, investments and other business-related financial records. The raids, which were kept completely confidential and not disclosed even to local police in advance, are expected to continue till late evening.
The sudden and large-scale Income Tax action has triggered considerable buzz in business circles across Jharkhand.