New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) The Income Tax Department has seized about Rs 12 crore cash after it conducted searches at the premises of three Rajasthan-based groups early this week on charges of tax evasion, officials said on Friday.

They said the department has also recovered jewellery worth about Rs 1.5 crore after it "almost" completed the searches that covered 43 premises in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kota.

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About Rs 12 crore cash has been seized from various premises apart from the recovery of jewellery worth Rs 1.5 crore, official sources said.

They said at least Rs 5 crore cash, out of the total, was recovered from a locker in Mumbai while prohibitory orders have been issued on about a dozen such bank accounts in the four cities.

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The searches were launched on July 13 amid a brewing political crisis in the ruling Congress party in the desert state.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy-making body for the tax department, had said on Monday that "search and survey operations were conducted on three groups at 20 premises in Jaipur, six in Kota, eight in Delhi and nine in Mumbai".

The searches came amidst an intense power tussle between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot and the action was criticised by the Congress party even as the department said the raids were carried out after it obtained "reliable inputs" of tax evasion by the groups under the scanner.

"One of the groups covered is involved in several business activities like hotel, hydro power projects, metal and auto sectors. It is suspected to have invested unaccounted income generated from these activities into real estate," the CBDT had said.

The second group, it said, is engaged in the business of trading of silver and gold jewellery and antique silver articles and has associate enterprises in various countries like the UK and the USA, and also has properties and bank accounts in these countries.

"The main allegation against the group is that a substantial part of its silver jewellery business is carried out outside the regular books of accounts," the CBDT had said.

The third group, it added, is involved in hotel business.

"The source of investment in the same remains to be verified," it said.

The CBDT said several incriminating evidences in the form of loose papers, diaries, digital data were found that indicate bullion trading in cash, investment of cash in properties among others.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)