Patna/Bhagalpur: A team of income-tax sleuths entered flat numbers 21 and 22 of Rekha Modi, a cousin of deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, located on the second floor of Saraswati Apartment off S.P. Verma Road, an upscale posh locality in the state capital, a few minutes after noon on Thursday.
They locked the doors from inside and curtailed the access of outsiders to the floor as a detachment of Bihar police personnel stood guard outside. The raid on the premises was going on till the time of going to the press.
Sources said Rekha and her daughter Urvashi Modi were not present inside their residence. However, Rekha's mother, who is aged and paralysed, and a couple of caregivers were present when the I-T sleuths knocked.
The I-T action was part of the raids conducted raids at 11 places across Bihar in connection with the Srijan government fund transfer scam.
Though the CBI is now investigating the Rs 1,450-crore Srijan scam, records that came to light when the state police, Economic Offences Unit (EOU) and a special investigating team were probing it had revealed that diamond jewellery worth over Rs 14 crore was bought directly from the funds swindled by Srijan and gifted to wives, children and kin of bureaucrats and politicians.
Rekha, who has been involved with a few NGOs in the past, was alleged to be one of the beneficiaries of the diamond jewellery.
As the raids set the political circuit on fire and the Opposition parties took the opportunity to attack the ruling dispensation in the state, deputy chief minister Modi took to Twitter in defence.
"Rekha Modi is my distant cousin. I don't have any business or financial connection with her. She is involved in many criminal & civil cases with her. In one of such cases she has dragged my name also. I have not met her in last 10 years," Modi tweeted.
The scam involved transfer of funds from state government's bank accounts to the accounts of an NGO (non-government organisation) Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti. The practice had continued for several years and was facilitated with the help of the NGO's now deceased founder Manorama Devi's nexus with administrative officials and politicians.
However, the tweet did not stop the attacks and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said the raids were "mere eye wash to brush the black deeds of Sushil and chief minister Nitish Kumar under the carpet".
The Patna residential and business premises of Ravi Jalan, owner of Jalan Jewellery shop, and another businessman Arun Kumar were also raided.
People who were raided in Bhagalpur for their alleged connection with the Srijan scam include BJP leader Bipin Sharma, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party's Dilip Verma, Kishore Ghosh, P.K. Ghosh, Rohit Kumar and Rahul Kumar in Bhagalpur. Rohit and Rahul are purported owners of Pragati Sari shop in the silk city.
The simultaneous raids started shortly after 12 noon and income-tax sleuths converged at the targeted locations.
The premises being raided were cordoned off with the help of Bihar Police personnel as the sleuths minutely searched the premises.
"Our men are conducting searches at various locations of people connected to the Srijan scam. The operation is going on and may continue till tomorrow. Any information about seizures could be provided only after it concludes," a senior income tax official told The Telegraph on the condition of anonymity.
Another I-T official said the previous tax returns of the persons concerned were also being examined and some of their establishments could be sealed after the operation concludes.
