Income Tax Raid at Jamshedpur CA Manoj Chaudhary’s Residence Over Baba Rice Mill Network  

Jamshedpur: The Investigation Wing of the Income Tax Department sent shockwaves through the business community on Thursday morning after launching simultaneous raids at the residence of prominent Chartered Accountant (CA) Manoj Chaudhary and several other locations across Jharkhand and Bihar.

The massive operation, which began at Chaudhary’s Bungalow in Jamshedpur’s Circuit House Area, is part of a wider crackdown against the Ranchi-based ‘Baba Rice Mill Group’ and its associated business partners regarding alleged tax evasion and undisclosed investments.

Officials arrived at the CA’s residence around 7:00 AM in a fleet of private vehicles to maintain secrecy. To ensure the integrity of the search, a large contingent of central security forces cordoned off the premises, seized the mobile phones of all family members, and prohibited any outsiders from entering. Manoj Chaudhary is an influential figure in the city’s financial circles, serving as a consultant for several major industrial houses, which has heightened the impact of this raid.

The crackdown stems from intelligence regarding the misappropriation of crores of rupees through shell companies and unrecorded financial dealings within the rice milling sector. While Jamshedpur remains a focal point, the department is also scanning documents at Baba Rice Mill offices and owners’ properties in Ranchi and Hazaribagh. Early reports suggest that investigators have already recovered digital evidence, hard disks, and bank transaction records from Chaudhary’s home.

The intensity of the operation, involving over 35 officials in Jamshedpur alone, has triggered panic among other financial professionals in the city, with many local accountants reportedly closing their offices in fear of further scrutiny. While several bank lockers and property deeds have been identified, the Income Tax Department has yet to issue a formal statement. However, the scale of the search suggests that disclosures of benami investments and undisclosed assets worth crores are likely by the end of the operation.