Bollywood I-T Raids: Shiv Sena launches fresh attack on Centre

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena on Friday hit out at the Centre over the Income Tax raids at the homes and offices of Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. In its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Shiv Sena has said the artists and directors of Bollywood are being raided by the Income Tax department as they spoke against the Central government.

The Income Tax Department on Wednesday (March 3) raided the homes and offices of Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap as well as his partners who launched the now-shuttered production house Phantom Films, officials said.

The searches, part of a tax evasion probe against Phantom Films, carried out across 28 locations in Mumbai and Pune. It also covered some executives from celebrity and talent management companies KWAN and Exceed.

“Prominent among them are Taapsee Pannu, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl and distributor Madhu Mantena. More than 30 locations were raided in Mumbai and Pune. Taapsee Pannu and Anurag Kashyap keep expressing their views openly,” Shiv Sena said in its mouthpiece.

Pannu and Kashyap, both known to be outspoken in their views on a range of issues, are shooting in Pune and are understood to have been questioned by the tax sleuths as part of the preliminary questioning that takes place during raids.

“Few people such as Taapsee Pannu and Anurag Kashyap stood in favour of the farmers’ movement. They are paying for it,” Shiv Sena said.

Shiv Sena further attacked the Centre saying “political revenge” isn’t right when the businesses in the cine world suffered in terms of finances during the coronavirus-induced lockdown period.