Indian Politics
Shop on Naroda Road, Party on Paper: CID Probes ₹519-Crore Donation Loop, ₹155-Crore Tax Hit
A political party with a Naroda pin code and almost no physical footprint is now a CID Crime case. Gujarat investigators allege that Swatantrata Abhivyakti Party, registered at a shop on Ahmedabad’s Naroda Road, was used to collect ₹519 crore in bogus donations and strip ₹155 crore from the tax net.
The complaint was filed by Assistant Director Muktendrakumar Shatishkumar of the Income Tax Department. CID Crime, Gandhinagar, has registered an offence. PI Kalpeshkumar Patel is leading the inquiry.
An address without an office
Records list the party at Shop No. 2, Mahavir Nagar, opposite Kalyan Mill, beside Chetana Hotel, Naroda Road, Saijpur Bogha, Ahmedabad – 382345. That address is tied to a Registered Unrecognised Political Party (RUPP). Officials who checked the spot say they found no office, no staff and no political work.
What they found instead, the complaint says, was a name on paper and a banking trail large enough to move hundreds of crores.
The alleged circuit
Income Tax officers describe a five-step loop:
- High-value taxpayers sent donations to the party by bank transfer.
- Donors claimed a 100% deduction under Section 80GGC, which allows full tax relief on eligible political contributions.
- The money was moved to Jay Trading Company, called a shell firm in the complaint.
- Cash was withdrawn and an 8–9% commission was cut.
- The balance was allegedly returned to the donors in cash.
Investigators say the outfit was not built to fight elections. It was built to sell a tax shield and keep a cut.
Who is named
Three people figure in the complaint:
- Surendra Parsotamprakash Tiwari, described as national president, of Harivilla Flat, Bapa Sitaram Chowk, New Naroda. He is accused of running party affairs, bank accounts and hawala-style cash movement.
- Mehulkumar Maheshkumar Khatri, 52, a tax consultant and income-tax return preparer from Patan. He is accused of linking donors to the arrangement and pushing funds toward shell entities.
- Mayursinh Chandansinh Rathod, a chartered accountant from Satellite, Ahmedabad. He is accused of certifying contribution reports without proper checks and filing Form 24A with the Election Commission.
All three are accused, not convicted. The claims still have to survive investigation and trial.
Why the timing matters
The party was already in the news this month. A BBC report on little-known RUPPs said Swatantrata Abhivyakti Party showed about ₹219 crore in donations in 2023–24 while fielding almost no serious electoral presence. Tiwari told the BBC he did not control the money and that the chartered accountant handled finances. He also said the party received an Income Tax notice in July. The CA denied any wrongdoing and said his role was to prepare and file the required audit papers.
The CID case goes further. It puts a single alleged circuit at ₹519 crore in donations and ₹155 crore in tax evasion, and treats the Naroda shop as a front. Divya Bhaskar reported that investigators believe the party was never meant to contest polls or do political work — only to earn commission — and that the money may connect to other frauds.
A Gujarat pattern, not a one-off
Similar stories have stacked up over the past year: unrecognised Gujarat parties with giant donation books, tiny vote counts, and offices that turn out to be locked shops. ADR data and later tax raids have pointed to the same alleged trick — cheque in as a “political donation,” cash out after a fee.
Section 80GGC was meant to fund parties in the open. The Ahmedabad complaint says it was used to wash income.
What CID will test
The next questions are practical:
- which donors paid, and who claimed 80GGC relief;
- how funds moved from the party account to Jay Trading Company and then into cash;
- whether Form 24A filings to the Election Commission were false;
- and whether the same network touches other paper parties.
First reports have not published an FIR number or announced arrests. Gujarat Samachar’s account leaves the matter at complaint and investigation, not a court finding.
The picture from Ahmedabad is still the one that started the case: a national president on paper, a CA’s certificate, a shop that was never an office — and a ₹519-crore donation book attached to a Naroda address.
