IT dept widens probe against actor Sonu Sood; searches multiple premises in Mumbai
Mumbai, Sep 17: The Income Tax Department has widened its tax evasion probe against actor Sonu Sood as it raided multiple premises here on Friday, official sources said.
The department had launched the action against the 48-year-old actor and some people linked to him on Wednesday and the action continued.
The searches have now been extended to more locations in the city, they said.
On Wednesday, the action was carried out in at least half a dozen locations in the metropolitan city and Lucknow.
A real estate deal and some other financial transactions linked to Sood are under the scanner of the department, official sources had said.
The actor grabbed the national spotlight for helping migrants reach their home states during the nationwide lockdown clamped last year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Delhi government, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had recently declared that Sood will be the brand ambassador of the Aam Aadmi Party government's 'Desh ka mentors' programme under which students will be guided in making their career choices.
Kejriwal had said on Saturday that Sood had the prayers of lakhs of families of India who got his support in difficult times.
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Rupee crashes 46 paise to 92.28 against US dollar in early trade, nears all-time low
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee plummeted 46 paise to near its all-time intra-day low of 92.28 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as global crude oil prices shot up and the greenback strengthened amid the worsening situation in the Middle East.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by a staggering 25.68 per cent at USD 116.5 per barrel in futures trade as the war between US-Israel and Iran intensified.
A big surge in FII outflows and a crash at the domestic equity market in morning trade put further pressure in the local unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 92.22 against the US dollar before declining further to 92.28, down 46 paise from its previous close. The rupee had hit an all-time intra-day low of 92.35 on March 4.
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The rupee depreciated 18 paise against the US dollar on Friday to close at 91.82 against the American currency.
"The rupee will remain vulnerable to the rising oil prices which have risen by more than 28 per cent since the last closure on Friday. Asian currencies were also lower on Monday," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
Rupee might touch 93.00 if oil remains above USD 100 in the coming trading sessions, he added.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.66 per cent higher at 99.64.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex crashed 2,345.89 points to 76,573.01 in early trade, while Nifty tumbled 708.75 points to 23,741.70.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 6,030.38 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped USD 4.885 billion to an all-time high of USD 728.494 billion during the week ended February 27, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.
