The Income Tax (IT) department on Wednesday conducted searches at six locations linked to Bollywood actor and philanthropist Sonu Sood in connection with allegations of tax evasion in a deal struck between the actor’s company and a Lucknow-based real estate firm. The simultaneous searches were conducted in Mumbai and Lucknow.
Coming on the heels of Sood’s meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who declared him the brand ambassador for his Government’s mentorship programme for school students in the Capital, the searches by the IT officials raised eyebrows in the political circles. However, the ruling BJP at the Centre has denied that the searches on Sood’s premises had anything to do with politics.
Forty-eight-year-old Sood, whose humanitarian work during the Covid-19 triggered lockdown period has earned him a lot of goodwill among the people across the country, has so far not commented on the raging speculation about his joining the AAP and contesting the Punjab Assembly elections next year.