I-T raids on Pushparaj Jain, the Samajwadi perfume producer from Kannauj

On Friday, December 31, the Income Tax Department raided the Kannauj home of businessman Pushparaj Jain, the creator of the Samajwadi scent that Akhilesh Yadav had introduced. Tax evasion and bookkeeping fraud are being probed against Jain.

The searches are taking place in Kanpur, Kannauj, the national capital region, and a few other locations, according to Income Tax officials. According to the sources, the department is checking various locations for some firms tied to the perfume trade and related enterprises.

Following the arrest of Kanpur-based perfume seller Piyush Jain, people mistook him for Samajwadi Party MLC Pushpraj Jain aka Pampi Jain, who produced the Samajwadi Attar (perfume) ahead of the impending Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2022.

Many people thought he was the Kanpur trader who had been charged with tax evasion. The accused, however, is not SP MLC Pushpraj Jain. The SP MLC also lives in Kannauj, close to Piyush Jain's home, and the distance between their homes is only 500 metres.

On December 23, the Income Tax and GST Intelligence team discovered Rs 177 crore cash in a residence in Kanpur. Later, it was discovered that this house belongs to Piyush Jain, a Kannauj-based perfume merchant.

Pushpraj Jain had previously denied any connection with Piyush Jain in an interview. He claimed that his name had been dragged through the mud because of the forthcoming elections.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP administration has been accused of wrongdoing in raids on Pushparaj Jain's home by the Samajwadi Party.

Later in the day, SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav would speak to the media about the P Jain vs. P Jain controversy.