Searches are on at 28 properties of Christian tele-evangelist Paul Dhinakaran, the Chairman of Jesus Calls missionary organization.
The Income Tax department has raided the properties in connection with ‘Jesus Calls’ at Chennai, Coimbatore and other locations in Tamil Nadu. They also raided the Karuna Christian School which is affiliated to Jesus Calls.
The raids began on Wednesday (January 20) morning to check whether the organization was involved in evading tax based on complaints of tax evasion and foreign funding irregularities.
Legal Rights Observatory (LRO), a legal activists collective had earlier complained to the Income Tax department to probe Paul Dhinakaran’s immovable assets located all over the country and internationally.
The complaint had shed light on the anomalies in the Annual Returns filed and the contributions received by various NGOs operated by Paul Dhinakaran.
#SUCCESS IT Dept @IncomeTaxIndia raids underway on 28 premises of evangelist #PaulDhinakaran in Tamil Nadu, over alleged tax evasion. The premises include Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Jesus Calls ministry. #LRO was pursuing his pending Tax evasion case! https://t.co/8YGFb8SRhW
— Legal Rights Observatory- LRO (@LegalLro) January 20, 2021
Paul Dhinakaran, son of D.G.S Dhinakaran, is a Christian pastor and heads the Jesus Calls missionary organization founded by his father. He is also the Chancellor of Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences located in Coimbatore district.