Very soon one can find lock-smith (lock openers) in wanted columns of the popular news papers as there will be a huge demand for them, when special teams from Income Tax department (I-T) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been conducting raids and searches at the offices and houses of ministers, their relatives, their friends, houses and so on, as the elections to the Telangana Assembly will be held within 10 months.
According to the sources, with the bitter experience in opening the locker and doors of houses during the recent raids and searches, the higher-ups in the above said departments are in thought of appointing locksmiths on permanent basis so that the special teams will conduct the operation smoothly with the appointed locksmiths instead of hiring a locksmith in the nick of the time.
They pointed their fingers to the recent instances in Telangana, where the sleuths faced hardship in open the lockers and doors of the houses, when the owners refused to provide keys. The sources said that by god’s grace the special teams engaged the nearby locksmiths and booked the locksmiths on online to open the lockers and doors.
In the first instance, the special teams from the ED conducted searches at the residence of Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar in Karimnagar after they received complaints that irregularities worth crores of rupees took place in the export of granite. When the sleuths wanted to open a locker in the minister’s residence, they came to know that the key of the locker is with Gangula Kamalakar who is on a Dubai trip. When the officials made a phone call to the minister, he replied that he is about to return back and open the locker once he reached his house. But the officials decided to open the locker immediately and called a locksmith. The locksmith agreed to open the locker after the minister at Dubai approved to do so through a video call. The locksmith completed the task under the supervision of the ED sleuths.
The special teams of the I-T also experienced the same when they conducted simultaneous raids and searches at the houses and offices of Minister Malla Reddy and his relatives on Tuesday early hours. When the sleuths asked the minister to open the Beeruvas (Almirahs) where he replied negatively by saying that he don’t have keys of the Almirahs. The officials faced same situation at one of the minister’s relative’s residence. They booked and called a locksmith through online and made him to open the locks of three Almirahs. When Santosh Reddy, relative of the minister refused to open the doors of his house, the I-T officials break open door and entered the house.
In another incident, a team of I-T officials were invited with a locked house when they proceeded to search the residence of Marri Rajasekhar Reddy, who is the son-in-law of Minister Malla Reddy. After they came to know that the Rajasekhar Reddy is in Turkey along with his family, the officials entered the house with the help of a locksmith.
The sources said that as more raids and searches are on cards, the higher-ups in the Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate(ED) are seriously in a thought of appointing lock-smiths in good numbers on permanent basis to avoid delay in taking up raids and searches in near future.
