Rs 8 lakh SUVs for Rs 74 thousand: I-T lens on Maharashtra netas' poll bonanza

Call it election bonanza or sheer business sense, brand new Boleros worth over Rs 8.50 lakh a piece are being delivered for just Rs 74,000 each without any guarantee of future payments.

But when one such case from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg in Maharashtra was reported to the Election Commission, a puzzled poll watchdog called in for an income tax investigation, the trail of which is leading to some top politicians from the state.

A few state politicians were already under the I-T scanner after their names figured during a probe of Swiss bank deposits which were unearthed after France shared 700 names of Indians having accounts in HSBC Bank in Geneva. A possible link is being investigated.

Sleuths probing the case traced the dealer-G3 Motors Ltd-and interrogated its sales head. The probe revealed that a person from Thane came with a booking amount for 13 Boleros at Rs 74,000 each, all in cash. The dealer not only registered the vehicles but also paid for their insurance and registration and delivered them to addresses in Sidhudurg district.

"A bulk order for 13 Bolero vehicles was received from Bhavesh Garodia, a resident of flat no 503, Nilgiri Co-Op Housing Society at Ghatkopar (E)," the sales head told I-T officials.

Names of the buyers and cash for booking were provided by Garodia, the I-T report said. The dealer told the investigators that delivery of the vehicles was made without any further payments as the person who had booked the vehicles was known to the director of the firm, Vinod Gupta.

I-T officials are now on the trail of Garodia and likely to question the directors of the agency which delivered the vehicles. The sales head also said she did not meet or know any of the purchasers in whose names the Boleros were registered, raising security concerns.

Investigators looked into 'order taking forms' of the dealer and verified the documents and address proofs submitted by the purchasers to G3 MotorsLtd. The scrutiny revealed that all the purchasers had similar correspondence address in Sindhudurg district and all the vehicles were registered at Kalher village in Bhiwandi.

The I-T report was submitted to the EC last week.