I-T searches offices of Bala Vikasa in Warangal

The I-T raids were conducted offices of Bala Vikasa at Kazipet office in Hanamkonda district, offices in Warangal district, at Keesara near Hyderabad and other places simultaneously

Warangal: The Hyderabad unit of the Income Tax department on Wednesday raided the offices of Kazipet-based non-profit organisation, Bala Vikasa. It is learnt that they conducted searches at the Kazipet office in Hanamkonda district, offices in the erstwhile Warangal district, the recently opened corporate office at Keesara near Hyderabad and other places simultaneously.

Sources said the raids were also conducted on the houses of its Executive Director (ED) Singareddy Shoury Reddy, and founder S Bala Theresa Gingras in Kazipet and Hyderabad.

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Bala Vikasa was founded by Singareddy Bala Theresa Gingras and her husband, André Gingras, a career diplomat with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Minister Dayakar Rao condemns raids

Meanwhile, Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao condemned the I-T raids. “The raids on the organization, which has been doing selfless public service for the last 25-30 years by raising funds from the country and abroad are painful,” he said, adding that the I-T had targeted the organisation since it was a Christian missionary organization.

“In a secular and democratic country, the BJP government at the Centre is engaging in communal politics. With such raids, the BJP government is trying to stop the selfless public services of organizations like Bala Vikasa,” he said.