Surat, 6 December 2013

Patco Foods Private Limited, a company owned by Mathurbhai Sawani, one of the leading Modi supporters in Leuva Patel community in Surat and Saurashtra was raided by Income Tax department on Thursday evening.

Savani’s Patco Food Private Limited unit is situated at Dhamdod village near Kosamba in south Gujarat. While Mathurbhai Savani is Director, his son Mehul Savani is CEO of the company. Other few diamond traders are partners of the company.

Mathurbhai has been organizer of several major public functions in rural Saurashtra and Surat where Narendra Modi was invited to speak. Savani has been pioneer of water conservation movement in Saurashtra through his Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust. He was offered ticket to contest Botad assembly seat, but he refused, after which Saurabh Patel was chosen for that seat by BJP.

Income Tax department and Modi supporters

Income tax raids on Modi supporters are not new. In October this year, the Income Tax department carried out massive survey operation targeting diamond units in Mumbai that had felicitated Narendra Modi. Modi had in his felicitation function clearly warned the traders that they could face IT raids soon(Read this story and watch video). Recently a BJP supporting construction group in Ahmedabad was raided by central govt’s Income Tax and Service Tax departments ahead of wedding of daughter of proprietor family. In December 2010, then leader of opposition Shaktisinh Gohil had written a letter to then Finance Minister and asked that “the IT department must undertake a comprehensive survey about the companies that have inked MOUs during Vibrant Gujarat summit.” Following this the Income Tax department had sought details of MoU from Gujarat.