Amidst IT Raids, Here’s What Sonu Sood Has To Say
Bollywood actor Sonu Sood emerged as the messiah during the first and the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic. In the first wave, when the roads were filled with thousands of migrant workers struggling to go their homes, Sonu Sood helped them reach their homes. During the second wave of the pandemic, when lakhs were dying to insufficient availability of oxygen and hospital beds, Sonu Sood launched a helpline number to help the distress.
The actor received a lot of applause from politicians and the general public for his humanitarian action during the covid-19 pandemic. However, the actor recently made headlines after the actor’s house came under the surveillance of the Income Tax Department. As per the latest reports, the IT officials raided Sood’s house along with other 6 Sonu Sood property. When the raid took place, the IT officials maintained that it was different from a proper raid as currently, they are only gathering information about the sources of income of Sonu Sood and where Sood has spent that amount.
The raid came a day after Sonu Sood was made the brand ambassador for the Delhi Government’s mentorship programme for school students ‘Desh Ka Mentors’. Though the actor has always maintained that all that he has done or will do has nothing to do with politics, several reports claimed that the actor had met Arvind Kejriwal and might enter politics as well.
On Saturday, the Central Board of Taxes accused Sonu Sood of evading tax of Rs 20 crore. As per the statements made by the CBDT, a Lucknow based company and the actor was raided by the IT officials, and it was found that the actor routed his unaccounted income in the form of bogus unsecured loans from many fake entities. The department also charged Sonu Sood for violating the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) during raisings donations from abroad. The CBDT released a statement, which read: “During the course of search at the premises of the actor and his associates, incriminating evidence pertaining to tax evasion has been found. The main modus operandi followed by the actor had been to route his unaccounted income in the form of bogus unsecured loans from many bogus entities,”
The IT department, on 15th September, searched 28 premises in Lucknow, Jaipur, Delhi, Gurgaon, Kanpur and Mumbai in connection with Sonu Sood. The IT officials alleged that Sonu Sood’s charity foundation that was founded in July last year raised Rs 18.94 crore through donations till April 2021; the actor has only spent Rs 1.7 crore in relief funds, and the remaining amount is lying unutilized with the foundation. As per the latest news on Sonu Sood business and Sonu Sood net worth, the IT department is still figuring out about Sonu Sood’s source of income.
Though there was no response from the actor initially, the actor finally broke his silence and shared a cryptic post amidst the IT raids. Taking to Instagram, the actor shared a post which said: “You don’t always have to tell your side of the story; time will. I have pledged myself to the service of the people of India with all my strength and heart. Every rupee in my foundation is awaiting its turn to save a precious life and reach the needy. In addition, on many occasions, I have encouraged brands to donate my endorsement fees for humanitarian causes too, which keeps us going. I have been busy attending to a few guests, hence was unable to be at your service for the past few days. Here I am back again, in all humility, at your humble service for life. My journey continues,” Along with the post, the actor also wrote a long caption, thanking all Indians who are supporting him. In fact, for his humanitarian effort, Sonu Sood was awarded the prestigious SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
There has been no confirmation about the findings of the IT department, and the general public is constantly showing their support for the actor as he did help several people during the deadly outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic in India. Stay tuned for the latest updates about Sonu Sood news.
