Income Tax Department raids several food companies, including one linked to actress Shilpa Shetty

The raids also included the office premises of a restaurant jointly owned by Shetty and several others, sources said. They denied that tax officials had raided Shetty’s Mumbai house.

The Income Tax Department has raided the offices of several food companies in Mumbai, including one linked to actress Shilpa Shetty, on charges of tax evasion, official sources said on Thursday.

The sources said that raids have been conducted at around 20-24 locations in and around Mumbai since Wednesday. The department has received concrete information against some companies in the region that are accused of illegal or cash transactions.

The sources said the raids also included the office premises of a restaurant jointly owned by Shetty and some others. They denied that the tax authorities had raided Shetty’s Mumbai residence.

The tax authorities said the income tax probe was not related to the FIR registered by the Maharashtra Police against Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra (for cheating) nor to the FIR registered by the Bengaluru Police against a local restaurant for operating after the statutory working hours.