The Income Tax department conducted raids on Tuesday at the offices and homes of the producers of Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa-2: The Rule, besides another producer Dil Raju in Hyderabad, officials familiar with the matter said.
The raids, which began in the early hours, continued till late in the evening. About 55 teams of the I-T department conducted surprise raids at more than eight locations in the city.
The I-T department officials raided the offices and properties of producers Naveen Yerneni and Ravi Shankar Yelamanchili, who operate under the banner of Mythri Movie Makers, which produced Pushpa-2: The Rule and other high-budget films, an official said.
The department has not come out with any statement with regard to the raids.
A Tollywood trade analyst, who refused to be quoted, said Mythri Movie Makers’ Pushpa-2 has grossed over ₹1,800 crore worldwide. “The I-T department might be investigating the financial transactions related to the film, particularly focusing on undisclosed income and potential tax evasion,” he said.
The I-T department authorities conducted simultaneous inspections at the offices and residences of producer Dil Raju at Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills. Properties belonging to his brother Shirish, daughter Hanshitha Reddy, and other relatives were also searched.
The I-T authorities took Raju’s wife Tejaswini alias Vygha Reddy to a private bank in Hyderabad, where she has lockers. “They asked me to open my bank lockers to see certain documents. We showed them all the papers. The searches have been going on since morning. These are routine searches conducted on the film personalities,” Vygha Reddy told reporters.
Raju recently produced two big-ticket films Game Changer and Sankrantiki Vasthunnam, besides distributing another big film Daku Maharaj, which were released in the first two weeks of this month.
Raju, who owns Sri Venkateswara Creations, is also the chairman of Telangana Film Development Corporation.
The I-T department authorities also conducted searches on the offices of Mango Media, a film promoting company, owned by Rama Krishna Veerapaneni, husband of popular Telugu singer Sunitha.
