UP liquor baron raided amidst election heat

Noida: The income tax department on Wednesday raided a liquor baron considered close of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in the midst of the election heat in the state.

Liquor baron Ponty Chadda was the central target for the Income Tax investigations.

The raids carried out at 17 locations across Uttar Pradesh and Delhi including a prime shopping mall and farmhouses owned by Chadda has sparked off allegations of political vendetta.

It came on a day when Mayawati hit the campaign trail seeking re-election to the Uttar Pradesh assembly.

One of the main places raided is the Centrestage Mall, the first ever that came up in Noida. In the basement of the building, the investigators found a set of sealed lockers.

Also raided was his sprawling 13 acre farmhouse in Chattarpur in New Delhi.

The go-ahead for the raid was given by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee two weeks back, after a four-month long investigation in Ponty's alleged illegal business activities.

According to income tax sources, Ponty Chadha, the sole liquor distributor in Uttar Pradesh, sole each bottle above the maximum retail price (MRP).

The margin money of it was shared between Ponty and Uttar Pradesh politicians.

Known to be very close to UP Chief Minister Mayawati, Ponty Chadha floated 16 companies right after she came to power in 2007. These companies were given contracts ranging from real estate to sugar mills to film production and distribution.

There are 40 directors who run the 16 companies.

CNN-IBN has learnt that two of his closest aides, who are alleged Hawala operators Lalit Kapoor alias Sweety and Gurjeet Kocchar, have also been nabbed.

The CAG of Uttar Pradesh had also indicted Ponty in the purchase of five sugar mills in UP at throwaway price by duplicate tenders.

Sources in income tax say that prime properties of Chadda have been acquired at throwaway price from the UP government across Noida to set up multiplexes and commercial establishments. The department is also looking into the flow of money from the UAE.

However, across political circles, the raids on Ponty are being seen as a Congress move to target Mayawati before the elections.

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