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256 Kanpur paan-sellers, rag-pickers turn out to be millionaires in I-T probe

In a stunning discovery made by the Income Tax Department of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, around 256 people selling roadside snacks and eatables such as paan, samosa, and chaat have been found to be millionaires, News18 reported.

In fact, several 'poor' who work as rag-pickers have been revealed to own more than three cars.

gurgaon, delhi, india - circa 2021 : banaaras paan stall serving royal beetle leaf as a dessert or a traditional after dinner mint snack in India showing pop up stalls of new companies popping up
Image for representational purposes only. Getty Images.

These 'crorepati' sanitation workers have been found to have shied away from paying taxes for the last few years.

The investigation was conducted by a team of I-T Department and GST registration with the help of big data software.

BEAWAR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA - 2021/06/04: A rag picker collects reusable waste from a heap of garbage at Municipal Council Dumping Yard, on the eve of World Environment Day in Beawar. Narendra Modi led Government of India launched Clean India Campaign in 2014 to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management that failed to achieve its intended targets. (Photo by Sumit Saraswat/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Image for representational purposes only. Getty Images.

News18 has reported that all of those netted, including numerous small fruit sellers and shopkeepers, did not pay a single rupee outside of the GST registration.

On the other hand, they bought property worth Rs 375 crore within the last four years. The property in question had been acquired in expensive and posh areas of the city.

And it doesn’t stop there.

These ‘small timers’ also bought around 650 bighas of agricultural land in and around the rural areas around Kanpur.

In fact, two sanitation workers have built up properties worth more than 10 crores in the last two years.

Furthermore, more than 65 small grocery sellers and small-time druggists have also turned out to be millionaires who are not registered with the GST records.

(Inputs from News18, DNA India)