Mahesh Shah, a businessman from Gujarat, came before the media and made some shocking revelations. Shah disclosed Rs. 13,860 crore under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) which is said to be the biggest disclosure in India of all times. After making the disclosure, Shah disappeared and now he came out in public on Saturday.
Mahesh was later arrested but before that, he said that he was just a cover for those influential people who want to convert their black money into white one and he has received huge commission for the purpose.
He said this when he was asked whether the money disclosed by him belonged to real estate dealers, businessmen and politicians,
“The Rs 13,860 crore declared in IDS was not mine. It belonged to a mix of people from across the country. The amount can be higher.”
He further said,
“I was going to pay the first installment of Rs 1,560 crore (penalty) but the persons (whose money I declared) backed out at the last minute. Something happened in two days and the money was not given to me. I will name each and every person and they will have to appear before I-T officials.”
The Income Tax department has demanded police protection for the businessman and his family.
I-T officers said that they would ask Mahesh to speak out the names for whom he was acting as a cover and names of those also who were a part of proxy IDS declaration.
Mahesh further said,
“During that time, there was no question of names being revealed in IDS. I got lured by commission. I now realize that what I did was wrong. It is my fault and my family should not be dragged into this as they were not aware of my dealings.”
Mahesh’s wife is suffering from cancer while his son Monitesh doesn’t have a job. The Gujarat businessman accepted that he did wrong and he was afraid but he denied being absconding. He also said that he would prove himself innocent before the I-T department and demanded police protection for himself and his family, something which has been demanded by the I-T department as well, as Mahesh is a part of big money laundering racket.
It seems as if some big fish will be caught in the net this time…. What do you say? Let us know your views about the article in the comments section below.