Now, income tax trouble for Padamsinh

There could be more trouble for suspended Nationalist Congress Party leader Padmasinh Patil.

The MP will now be under the income tax (I-T) department’s scanner following the seizure of a huge amount of cash and investment details from his Colaba house.

On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided Patil’s duplex flat in Shangrila building opposite Colaba post office and seized Rs 7.26 lakh and details of fixed deposits worth Rs 6.9 crore.

They also seized keys of nine bank lockers, which will be opened next week.

The raid continued till the early hours of Friday.

Patil is currently in CBI custody in connection with the killing of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar and his driver Samad Kazi on June 3, 2006, in Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai.

As his police custody ends on Saturday, Patil will again be produced in the Panvel court.

Along with the remand hearing, the court will also hear a petition filed by Patil alleging harassment by CBI officials.

The CBI is likely to rope in the I-T department by next week to confirm if the seized cash and investment details had been declared.

Rishi Raj Singh, Joint Director of CBI (West Zone) told Hindustan Times that their priority now was to produce Patil in court on Saturday.

“After that we will think,” he said about involving the I-T department.

The CBI will also send the revolver, pistol, two rifles, ammunition and swords seized from Patil’s flat to the forensic laboratory next week.

Singh said the weapons had licences, but they want to match the ammunition with the arms.

He added that the CBI would check the licence details to know how much ammunition was issued with the weapons and how many were used.

The CBI had also seized nine Very High Frequency walkie-talkies, documents relating to the Nimbalkar murder and Terna Sugar Cooperative factory, over which Patil and Nimbalkar fell out.

Nimbalkar had found mismanagement of funds in the factory, which Patil controlled.