Close on the heels he accepted the offer of APP to be its “Brand Ambassador” for Delhi government’s mentorship programme for school students, actor Sonu Sood’s offices in Mumbai and a company in Lucknow linked to him were raided by the Income Tax department.
A recent deal between Sood’s company and a Lucknow-based real estate firm is under the scanner. The survey operation has been initiated on allegations of tax evasion on this deal, Income Tax department claimed.
Opposition politicians linked the raids to the actor’s recent high-profile meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who declared him the brand ambassador for his government’s mentorship programme for school students in the capital.
AAP leader, Raghav Chaddha, said: “An IT raid on a man as upright as Sonu Sood, somebody who has been called a messiah by lakhs of people, who helped the downtrodden. If a man like him can be politically targeted in a well thought out witch-hunt shows that the current regime is insensitive and politically insecure.”
The 48-year-old actor has been in films for the past two decades but it was his amazing philanthropy during the pandemic that made him a household name.
Sood won wide praise for his charity work during the pandemic. He organised buses, trains and even the flights for migrants desperate to reach home after being stranded during girst lockdown. During the second wave in April-May, he organised oxygen for Covid patients and ordered 18 oxygen plants from France, which were sent to various states.
He was dubbed the “messiah” for those who turned to him after the system failed them.
As he became a hero in real life, he was feted by politicians across the country. Though he has never shown any inclination towards politics, speculation ran wild after his meeting with Delhi CM Kejriwal and rumours suggested the actor may contest next year’s Punjab election as an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate.
Kejriwal tweeted that there were millions of hurdles on the path of truth, but truth always prevailed. “Sonu Sood has the blessings of lakhs of families, whom he had helped during their difficult times,” he tweeted.
