The Income Tax Department on Friday reacted cautiously to the reports on I-T raids conducted in the premises of realtors on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, B R Sudhakara, Director General of IT (Investigation), Bangalore confirmed the raids in eight premises owned by five individuals connected to the real estate industry, but did not divulge details, including the realtors’ identities. “Searches have concluded in most of the places... and maybe, a few prohibitory orders are in place. We’ve seized a number of documents that indicate our hunches, concealment of income and unaccounted transactions,” Sudhakara said.

Sudhakara said “some cash” has also been seized. Refusing to state whether raids were conducted in premises belonging to any politician, he said that such “classifications” did not matter for the Department, that was only concerned about tax evasion. “The raids were conducted on property developers and those who have invested in real estate,” he said.

According to sources, raids were conducted on seven people in places like Nagashettyhalli, Sahakaranagar and Byatarayanapura. The officials have mainly confiscated documents which shows how the contractors evaded tax. Besides, hard cash around Rs 10 crore was seized from their offices and residence during the raid, sources said.