Wall With Hidden Gold, 50 Lakhs Cash Found In Raid At Rajasthan Food Group

After receiving an anonymous tip, Amay Patnaik, a senior income tax officer, investigates an influential man in Lucknow for money laundering. In a raid at his home, Patnaik finds black money and gold hidden inside the walls, the false ceilings, and under the floor. This is the story of the 2018 Bollywood movie 'Raid'. A real life parallel unfolded this week in Rajasthan's Jaipur, where investigators found a secret wall hiding a strongroom full of gold jewellery worth crores.

The raid at Rajasthan's Kanha Group entered day three on Friday, with the Income Tax Department recovering more cash, gold and documents pointing to alleged large-scale tax evasion.

Crackdown On Kanha Group

The Income Tax Department launched raids at 33 locations across six cities on Wednesday in a crackdown on the Kanha Group. The operation began at 7 am, with Jaipur seeing the largest number of raids with 26 locations being searched. Teams are also conducting raids at two locations in Udaipur and one each in Sriganganagar, Kota, Karauli, Hindaun and Mumbai.

Kanha Group, founded in 2008 by Natwar Lal Sharda, is a prominent Jaipur-based food and beverage company known for its sweets, namkeens and bakery products.

Rs 50 Lakh Cash, 10 Bank Lockers, Gold

The investigation has revealed that the tax evasion money, reportedly amounting to over Rs 100 crore, was invested in luxury hotels. The team also raided two luxurious five-star hotels - Hotel Taj (Amer) and Kundan Van - in Jaipur and is scanning their documents.

On the first two days of the raids, the investigators recovered a large number of suspicious documents from the restaurant owner's home and office. On the third day of the investigation, the team discovered a 'secret wall' hiding gold jewellery in a secret room behind it. The jewellery is yet to be valued. The latest discovery has changed the course of the investigation. It is not just a case of tax evasion anymore, but a well-planned scheme to conceal wealth.

The Income Tax Department has discovered over 10 bank lockers belonging to the Kanha Group. According to sources, these lockers may contain documents related to disputed properties worth crores of rupees and a large quantity of gold.

Business As Usual

Business at the Kanha Restaurant remained uninterrupted amid large-scale raid. The Income Tax team had instructed officials to ensure that customers don't face any inconvenience due to the ongoing raid. 

Sales continue as usual while investigators examine documents, bank accounts, and data stored in computers.

The IT Department had long received information that the group was engaging in large-scale financial fraud. After days of surveillance and investigation, hundreds of department employees and security forces swung into action on Wednesday.

(With inputs from Deepak Chawla)