Rs 500 cr Bengaluru wedding of ex-BJP minister's daughter under I-T lens

Bengaluru: The former BJP minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy’s daughter’s gala wedding has caught the attention of the income-tax department, which has reportedly set in motion an investigation into the actual expenses that have been incurred in the alleged Rs 500 crore wedding, which is scheduled to be held on Wednesday at the Bengaluru Palace Grounds.

Though officers in the I-T department are tight-lipped about the investigation, it is reliably learnt that they are examining the actual expenditure and the source of money, given the fact that most of Mr Reddy’s assets were seized after the CBI arrested him in September 2011 in the Obalapuram Mining case.

Subsequently, a special anti-money laundering court had attached assets worth over Rs 37.88 crore belonging to him and his wife Lakshmi Aruna.

“He (Janardhan Reddy) has planned a lavish wedding for his daughter and the expenses are estimated to be around '500 crore. The I-T department will investigate the amount that has been spent and the source of money and if there is any irregularity in terms of use of unaccounted or non-declared income, the department will take necessary action against Mr Reddy,” said an official source. But sources close to Mr Reddy said that he may be using legitimate money, which he may have raised after pledging his properties. “The agencies had frozen only those assets, which were borne out of crime or ill-gotten wealth. Some of them may have been defrozen if they found no illegality. One must not forget that in 2008, he had declared his income around Rs 50,000 crore,” the officer said.