We had earlier reported about the raid being conducted by Income Tax officials at the offices and residences of prominent Telugu film producers like Dil Raju, Naveen Yerneni and Abhishek Agrawal, among others. There were several reports about documents seized by the IT department from some of these raids. On Saturday, Dil Raju held a press conference to issue a clarification on the said raids.
Addressing the media, Dil Raju stated, “The last Income Tax raid at our premises was conducted back in 2008. This search is a part of process. ” Addressing the rumours of certain documents or cash being seized from their offices, The Game Changer producer said, “A total of Rs 20 lakh was found collectively at the homes and offices of me and by business partners. They provided a clearance document to all of us after the investigation. Everyone’s records are clean.”
Provided further clarity on the nature of the investigation, Dil Raju added, “Since we are in the business of production, distribution and exhibition, they needed a detailed explanation of those businesses, which we have provided with them. Like Game Changer had a certain budget—they wanted accounts of how money was spent in each department.”
While the raid was being conducted, Dil Raju’s mother fell ill and had to be hospitalised. The producer clarified on her health condition as well, stating, “My mother has had severe cough, cold, and lung infection, which escalated while these raids were being conducted. Hence she had to be taken to the hospital, where she stayed for 2 days. She is now being discharged. There were some media reports about heart attacks, which are all baseless.”
Addressing the subject of inflated boxoffice collection reports, Dil Raju noted, “That’s a subject I need to address as part of the collective film industry. It needs to be corrected by the whole industry.”
