Income Tax Raids At Places of Anurag Kashyap, Taapsee Pannu And Others; Know Here Full Matter

by Shatakshi Gupta
Shatakshi Gupta
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The Income Tax Department on Wednesday raided the locations of filmmakers and entertainment companies.  Home and office of Producers-director Anurag Kashyap, actress Taapsee Pannu, along with Phantom Films, Reliance Entertainment, Kwan Talent Hunt Company and Exide Company were raided.  According to reports, Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu are also being questioned in Pune. Now let us understand the whole matter.

Also read: Payal Ghosh Accused Anurag Kashyap Of Sexual Harassment

Where and how the IT department raided?

 Raid started between 8 am and 9 am in Lokhandwala, Andheri, Bandra and Pune on Wednesday. The Income Tax Department conducted searches at about 30 places.  These include the Mumbai houses of Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu.

Which celebrities are on the radar?

Apart from Anurag and Taapsee, the locations of Kwan and Phantom Films partner Madhu Mantena and director Vikas Bahl have been raided. The house of Reliance Entertainment Group CEO Shibashish Sarkar has also been raided.

What is the reason behind the raid?

Till now no official statement has been issued by the IT department officials, but the department suspects malfunction in the functioning and transactions of Phantom Films Company. The scope of the investigation may increase based on the documents and evidence found in the raids.

Were the raids related to each other?

 Phantom Films Company was launched in 2010 by Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Madhu Mantena and Vikas Bahl. The company was shut down in 2018 after Vikas Bahl was accused of sexual exploitation. These four are alleged that the income from the Phantom film was not properly disclosed to the Income Tax Department and it was under-casted in the balance sheet.

 The second aspect is that Mantena bought a total of 37.5% share of Anurag Kashyap, VikasBahl and VikramadityaMotwani in Phantom Films a month ago.  He already had a share of 12.5%. The remaining 50% stake in this production house is owned by Reliance Entertainment of Anil Ambani Group. In this way, raids are connected in some way.

Why people are criticizing the raid on Anurag-Taapsee?

 Anurag and Taapsee are known for their strong opinions on the issues going on in the country. Taapsee has been supportive of the farmers’ movement. When pop star Rihanna commented on social media on this movement, in response, many Bollywood and sports personalities had tweeted in favour of the government.  Taapsee had expressed her opinion against these celebrities. At the same time, Anurag Kashyap has surrounded the Modi government on issues like CAA. So, people on social media are criticizing the government and seeing these raids as a tool to suppress their anti-government opinions.

What are the reactions to raids?

 Celebrities who have been raided here have not given any reaction yet. The Maharashtra government has condemned the raids.  Minister Ashok Chavan said, “These raids are nothing new.  Nowadays it has become a daily affair. Whoever speaks against the central government, government adopts this method to create duress. The government is working to suppress the voice of the people through such means.”