After conducting raids at various offices and premises of Dhanera Diamonds and Bhavna Gems and the real-estate firms linked to the companies, the Income Tax (I-T) department has recovered cash and jewellery worth Rs 15 crore so far.
Sources said land and business documents revealing benami deals worth Rs 1,700 crore were seized during the raids. Officials say the figure may go up to as much as Rs 2,000 crore by the time the entire operation is over.
The search operations, which began on December 2 under Vibhor Badoni—the Additional Director of Investigation of Surat I-T—were carried out across 30 locations in Surat and Mumbai.
Dhanera Diamonds maintained a record of only around 30 percent of their business while the rest was kept in confidential records at a secret rented office space in Mahidharpura. A similar office of Bhavna Gems also came to light during the raids. The company maintained the benami records at a small electrical shop opposite their factory in Katargam. The officials have seized records from the past 15-17 years from both firms.
They also seized land-related documents, bank lockers and digital data from Naresh Shah, Ramesh Vaghasiya and Kader Kothmir—the real-estate players linked to the diamond firms. According to police and local sources, the individuals in question have links to politicians from the BJP.
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