I-T officials conduct raids on city jeweller

Income Tax officials conducted simultaneous raids on the shops and house of popular diamond and jewellery trader M/s Musaddilal Bhagwat Swaroop Jewellers here on Thursday.
Fifteen teams consisting of nearly 100 officers carried out the raids. The raids, which began in the early hours of Thursday, continued till late in the night and would continue even on Friday, sources said. The I-T officials summoned over a dozen gemologists to value the available stock.
The family has been in the business in the city for six generations.
The group was in the news two years ago when it launched the four-storeyed jewellery mall, occupying an area of over 30,000 square feet, at an investment of Rs 250 crore.
The then Chief Minister, late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, had inaugurated the mall. Mr Sukesh Gupta, the group CEO, and the Kadapa MP, Mr Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, are friends from their Hyderabad Public School days.
Recently, the MBS group announced its plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore to set up a chain of premier jewellery showrooms across the country, including seven in the state.