The case is that Suresh Gopi tried to evade tax by submitting forged documents for the vehicle registration.Thiruvananthapuram: Actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, MP, on Thursday told the Crime Branch probe team that he owns farm land in Puducherry and that the vehicles were registered with the address of his rented house.
The actor had earlier applied for an anticipatory bail at Kerala High Court in the case related to the alleged use of fake documents to register his luxury cars in Puducherry. However, the Hich Court asked him to first appear before the probe team.
The case against the actor is that in 2010 and after becoming a member of Parliament, he bought two cars registered in Puducherry and saved around Rs 30 lakh in taxes.
The BJP-backed MP moved the court on December 12. In his plea, Suresh Gopi said the allegations prima facie were false.
He said that he had chosen to register the two vehicles at Puducherry, where he had tenanted a premise since 2009.
The BJP MP said he owns agricultural land around Puducherry, which was being looked after by family members, including his brothers.
He said he has a house at Bengaluru and his brothers have residences at Coimbatore and Tuticorin, so the vehicles were frequently used to ply within these states.
He said the charges had caused great insult and annoyance to him, and this would be further eroded and worsened if he was arrested.
He said he was prepared to fully cooperate with the investigation team and at any time they wished to interrogate him.
The Motor Vehicles Department had served a notice on 70 people, including Suresh Gopi, following allegations of tax evasion. In the notice, Thiruvananthapuram RTO had said that Suresh Gopi's car, registered as PY 05 A 99, was being used in Kerala, flouting rules.
The police said the actor-turned-politician used a fake residential address to register his luxury vehicle in the Union Territory to evade the 20 per cent tax in Kerala on luxury cars costing Rs 20 lakh and above.
Suresh Gopi should have registered the vehicle in Kerala as he resides at Sasthamangalam. Similar cases were also registered last month against southern film actors Fahadh Faasil and Amala Paul.
(With PTI inputs)
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