Patna: Income Tax sleuths on May 8 detected huge investments worth several crores in real estate, seized a number of bank accounts and cash worth around Rs 50 lakh during raids on the branch offices and premises of three private schools in Patna on complaints that the managements were furnishing wrong and fabricated tax returns showing less than the actual income.

The raids began on May 8 morning at branch offices, administrative buildings and schools of the franchise holder of Delhi Public School in Pune, New Delhi and Patna, besides premises of International School and St Severin's, director general (Investigation), IT, Patna, A K Thakur said.

The raids were simultaneously conducted in Delhi, Pune and Patna. ''We will scrutinise the documents relating to investments in real estate, business and donations and probe the source of the cash seized in the raids in a couple of days,'' he said.

Thakur said three separate teams of officers were engaged in the raids which had prima facie established that the managements of these schools were under-reporting their income in the IT returns.

No officials from the management sides of either of the schools were available for comment.

PTI