One Letter to PMO, Sleepless Nights for Surat’s Elite as IT Raids Rock Lakshmi Group

Surat | Gujarat — While Surat’s influential builders and industrialists slept peacefully, the knock of investigation agencies changed everything. A detailed letter written directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Praveen Agarwal, also known as “Praveen Bhoot,” has triggered a chain of Income Tax (IT) raids that have shaken the city’s powerful real estate and textile lobby. The letter, now at the centre of a multi-agency probe, alleges a massive scam involving unaccounted cash transactions, hawala routes and foreign fund manipulation running into nearly ₹2,000 crore.

According to sources, Agarwal’s complaint did not stop at allegations. The letter submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) reportedly included documents, transaction trails and digital evidence pointing to large-scale violations in Surat’s booming textile markets and real estate projects linked to the Laxmi Group, promoted by the Gajera brothers. Acting on the seriousness of the claims, the PMO is said to have ordered a high-level investigation, leading to coordinated IT action.

Investigators are focusing on Millennium-2 and Millennium-4 textile markets in Surat, where Agarwal has alleged that over 90 per cent of shop sales were conducted in cash and never reflected in official books. This unaccounted money, he claimed, was diverted for private use instead of being shown as project cost. Based on these inputs, IT teams have been scrutinising accounts and on-ground records of the markets for the past four days.

A major twist in the case is the alleged international money trail. Agarwal has claimed that cash collected in Surat was routed via hawala channels to Hong Kong, allegedly reaching key promoter Rakesh Gajera. The funds were then purportedly brought back into India as foreign investments to “whiten” the money and dilute the shareholding of original partners. Investigators are now examining overseas entities and foreign fund structures linked to the group.

The letter also makes a serious claim regarding alleged links with fugitive diamantiare Mehul Choksi, accused in the Punjab National Bank fraud case. Agarwal has alleged that “proceeds of crime” from the PNB scam were invested in projects linked to the Gajera brothers. Agencies are now verifying whether any tainted money has entered these ventures, a development that could significantly widen the scope of the probe.

Legal troubles for the group intensified after Agarwal filed a separate complaint with Surat’s Economic Offences Cell (EOC), alleging fraud in the Shanti Residences project. He claimed his 43 per cent stake was reduced to just 4.02 per cent through issuance of new shares to foreign funds. “This is not just tax evasion, but a calculated betrayal of shareholders,” a source familiar with the complaint said.

In a surprising turn, the IT department also raided Agarwal’s premises, signalling that agencies intend to probe both the complainant and the accused to uncover the full truth. The DDI wing has seized hundreds of digital devices, raw diaries and chat records, which officials say could become crucial evidence.

With the PMO reportedly monitoring the case closely, political pressure is said to have failed. Investors in Lakshmi Group projects are now anxious, fearing project delays and possible property attachments under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).