IT officials raid onion dealers in several states

The income tax (I-T) department today raided wholesale onion dealers across the state, following the sudden spurt in its prices, according to official sources in Lucknow.

According to a senior IT official, the raids were conducted in Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Meerut and other places across the state, at the premises of main onion dealers.

The raid was conducted in Lucknow at three wholesale dealers' premises in Naveen vegetable market at Sitapur road.

The IT team faced resistance from local traders who alleged that they were being unnecessarily harassed in the name of raids.

Regarding recovery, the official said the records of stock was being checked by the staff and it would take time to elaborate about it.

The raids followed reports of onions being sold at exorbitant prices and tax evasion by dealers to make profits according to sources.

Official sources say the raids were also conducted at Kolkata, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Faridabad, Jammu and Surat.