<p>The Income Tax Department on Saturday seized Rs 5.7 crore in new Rs 2,000 notes besides Rs 90 lakh in the old Rs 100 and Rs 20 currency in Hubballi district and Challakere in Chitradurga district.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Panaji Directorate of the Director General of Income Tax has been carrying out raids for the past two days (from Friday) on 15 premises in Karnataka and Goa, apparently targeting casino operators, hawala traders and cricket bettors.<br /><br />During the searches, the I-T officers seized 28 kg of bullion, about 4 kg of gold and jewellery, Rs 5.7 crore in new Rs 2,000 notes and Rs 90 lakh in old Rs 100 and 20 notes from a secret chamber in the bathroom of the residence of a hawala operator.<br />Various incriminating documents have also been recovered and the I-T teams are analysing and investigating them, an official statement issued by I-T department said.<br /><br />I-T teams were present at around 15 premises across Karnataka and Goa. Search operations were carried out on casino operators and bullion traders in Hubballi and Chitradurga districts in Karnataka, the statement added.<br /><br />Small town, big seizure<br /><br />What has surprised the officials is the large amount of new currency seized from Challakere, a sleepy town with just over 50,000 population, in Chitradurga district.<br />“Notably, the major haul of new denomination currency is from Challakere town, which is 40 km away from the Chitradurga district headquarters,” said the statement.<br /><br />One of the two raids conducted in Karnataka include the houses and offices of JD (S) local leader K C Veerendra, son-in-law of Kannada film actor Doddanna, in Challakere, Hubballi and Goa.<br /><br />Premises of Veerendra, a former Primary Land Development bank chairman, houses of his brothers K C Thippeswamy and K C Nagaraja were also raided in the past two days. Searches were on till 8.30 pm on Saturday. Veerendra was running a chit-fund business and used to lend money for interest before diversifying into casino and other ventures. His name had figured in cricket betting, said officials who didn’t wish to be named.<br /><br />In Hubballi, taxmen raided gold merchants V R Habeeb and Samundar Singh. “One of the hawala operators is also actively involved in converting old notes and was accumulating bullion using old currency,” the statement said.<br /><br />On December 1, income tax officials had raided the premises of T N Chikkarayappa, Managing Director of Cauvery Neeravari Nigama, and S C Jayachandra, Chief Project Officer of the State Highway Development Project, and a few contractors. The raids had yielded Rs 4.7 crore in new currency besides huge bullion, a luxury car and jewellery.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
<p>The Income Tax Department on Saturday seized Rs 5.7 crore in new Rs 2,000 notes besides Rs 90 lakh in the old Rs 100 and Rs 20 currency in Hubballi district and Challakere in Chitradurga district.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Panaji Directorate of the Director General of Income Tax has been carrying out raids for the past two days (from Friday) on 15 premises in Karnataka and Goa, apparently targeting casino operators, hawala traders and cricket bettors.<br /><br />During the searches, the I-T officers seized 28 kg of bullion, about 4 kg of gold and jewellery, Rs 5.7 crore in new Rs 2,000 notes and Rs 90 lakh in old Rs 100 and 20 notes from a secret chamber in the bathroom of the residence of a hawala operator.<br />Various incriminating documents have also been recovered and the I-T teams are analysing and investigating them, an official statement issued by I-T department said.<br /><br />I-T teams were present at around 15 premises across Karnataka and Goa. Search operations were carried out on casino operators and bullion traders in Hubballi and Chitradurga districts in Karnataka, the statement added.<br /><br />Small town, big seizure<br /><br />What has surprised the officials is the large amount of new currency seized from Challakere, a sleepy town with just over 50,000 population, in Chitradurga district.<br />“Notably, the major haul of new denomination currency is from Challakere town, which is 40 km away from the Chitradurga district headquarters,” said the statement.<br /><br />One of the two raids conducted in Karnataka include the houses and offices of JD (S) local leader K C Veerendra, son-in-law of Kannada film actor Doddanna, in Challakere, Hubballi and Goa.<br /><br />Premises of Veerendra, a former Primary Land Development bank chairman, houses of his brothers K C Thippeswamy and K C Nagaraja were also raided in the past two days. Searches were on till 8.30 pm on Saturday. Veerendra was running a chit-fund business and used to lend money for interest before diversifying into casino and other ventures. His name had figured in cricket betting, said officials who didn’t wish to be named.<br /><br />In Hubballi, taxmen raided gold merchants V R Habeeb and Samundar Singh. “One of the hawala operators is also actively involved in converting old notes and was accumulating bullion using old currency,” the statement said.<br /><br />On December 1, income tax officials had raided the premises of T N Chikkarayappa, Managing Director of Cauvery Neeravari Nigama, and S C Jayachandra, Chief Project Officer of the State Highway Development Project, and a few contractors. The raids had yielded Rs 4.7 crore in new currency besides huge bullion, a luxury car and jewellery.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>