36-hr search at Santosh's house yields Rs 6 cr

Hyderabad: The 36-hour searches by teams of Income Tax department in the house of Santosh Reddy, who manages the finances of Labour Minister Malla Reddy revealed certain interesting aspects.

First, the inmates of the house refused to open the door and the I-T officials had to break open the lock and enter the house. Later, while the searches were on, it is learnt that Santosh Reddy went into the washroom and on hearing the repeated sound of flushing of water, the IT officials reportedly entered the washroom to find that he had flushed some documents. They are said to have seized the remaining documents. At the end of the 36-hour search, the I-T officials handed over a list of documents and cash seized from the house. In the absence of official statement, speculations are on that the money seized was around Rs 6 crore.

It is learnt that officials identified irregularities in 38 educational institutions run by Malla Reddy and his family members. It is being alleged that donations were solicited for allotting seats and the money was diverted to real estate and his hospital. The hospital had obtained certain tax concessions but still donations were collected, it is alleged.

Meanwhile, the I-T officials who conducted searches at the house of Rajasekhar Reddy, son-in-law of Malla Reddy, took his granddaughter to Kranti Cooperative Urban Bank in Balanagar where money transactions related to the educational institutions are said to have taken place. The officials reportedly identified 12 lockers in eight banks and are said to have opened four lockers. However, the officials have not revealed any details regarding the raids so far.

Rajasekhar Reddy and his wife are in Turkey on a holiday and are said to be coming back to India on Thursday.

About 65 teams from Delhi, Odisha and Tamil Nadu participated in the raids. The officials also raided Vardhaman College and Arundhati Hospital owned by Malla Reddy's relatives.