Mistaken Identity? No, Say Taxmen On UP Trader Amid Political Blame-Game

Amid the fog of speculation surrounding the Rs 196 crore cash and 23 kg gold haul at UP businessman Piyush Jain's premises, tax authorities claim the Piyush Jain affair was a focused investigation based on specific inputs.

The unearthing of heaps of unaccounted cash from premises of an Uttar Pradesh businessman was not a case of mistaken identity, but result of a focused investigation based on specific inputs, sources from the centre's agency that probes GST evasions have said.

This comes amid a fog of speculation surrounding the huge haul at the Kanpur and Kannauj premises of Piyush Jain, which led to recovery of Rs 196 crore in cash and 23 kg gold.

Coming in the middle of a high-pitch election campaign, the raids have entered political speeches, with the BJP and Samajwadi Party accusing each other of backing the jailed perfume trader.

The BJP has alleged that it was Jain who recently launched the "Samajwadi perfume". Taking a swipe at the Opposition party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Kanpur yesterday, "Boxes filled with notes have come out. The people of Kanpur understand business and trade well. Before 2017, the perfume of corruption that they had sprinkled all over Uttar Pradesh is there for everyone to see."