I-T raid on Mammootty,Mohanlal

Income-Tax officials raided the houses of the two reigning Malayalam superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal recently.

The raids were conducted simultaneously at their homes and offices in Kochi,Thiruvananthapuram,Chennai and Bengaluru on July 22 following information that the actors had wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income.

The raids began early at 6.30 am; over 80 IT officials simultaneously verified records at the actors homes in Kerala and numerous offices. While Mohanlals houses in Mudavanmugal in Thiruvananthapuram and in Thevara in Kochi were raided,Mammoottys house in Panampally Nagar in Kochi too was raided. Besides this,Mammoottys production company Play House and Mohanlals Studio Max Labs were raided,even their close aids houses were not spared.

The extensive raids seem to have been kept secret by the IT department and it seems the plans were made well in advance and was known only to the top officials. The raids focussed not just on the stars,but their aides and business associates too. Thats how Anto Joseph who is a business associate of Mammootty as regards Play House and Antony Perumbavoor who is Mohanlals confidante came into the picture. The media too was not aware of what was happening until it started.

Its to be remembered that Mohanlal is involved,besides acting in other businesses,like production,distribution,the hospitality industry,etc. and Mammootty too produces films. Sources reveal that a pair of elephant tusks has been recovered from the raid conducted at Mohanlals house in Kochi. The IT officials have got in touch with forest department officials to confirm if the actor has got the permission for that. If he has had the ownership certificate issued,it could be kept in his house and if not,action could be initiated against him. Lots of antique stuff too was recovered from Mohanlals house; the actor has always been known to have a penchant for collecting antique things. Sources reveal that unaccounted money,disproportionate to their known sources of income; have been recovered from the houses of both the superstars. But since investigations are on,its yet to be confirmed whether or not the money recovered is unaccounted.

Mammootty appeared before the IT officials the very same day while Mohanlal,who was shooting for Pranayam in Tamil Nadu,came later.

According to sources,the investigation following the raid would be a long process and it would be quite some time before the real picture comes up. This is perhaps the biggest on Income-Tax raid to film stars in Malayalam and is

eliciting mixed response from people all across the state.