In a massive crackdown, the Income Tax department launched coordinated raids on the operations of tobacco giant Banshidhar Company across 5 states.
Shaking down every leaf linked to the empire, officials unearthed a hidden trove of luxury. At the Delhi residence of scion Shivam Mishra alone, they found a Rs 16 crore Rolls Royce Phantom.
The raids have confiscated over Rs 7 crore in cash, expensive watches, including a Rs 2.5 crore diamond-studded piece, and a collection of luxury cars worth Rs 50 crore.
Question marks are being raised over the company’s declared income of Rs 20-25 crore against the estimated actual turnover of Rs 100-150 crore. Massive amounts were laundered using offshore routes, it is suspected.
15-20 teams worked tirelessly, scattering the clandestine world built on financial deceit. Patriarch KK Mishra now sees his once impenetrable fortress stand exposed, cracked from within.
As the agency’s probing intensifies, more skeletons may tumble out of the tobacco baron’s opaque closet.
