Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu broke her silence about the income tax raids at her property by taking to Twitter and sarcastically ending her tweet with a “Not so sasti anymore”, post-script. Her tweets came 72-hours after the Income Tax department carried raids on her and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s properties over tax evasion.

The ‘Thappad’ film actress Taapsee took a sarcastic and witty dig at the authorities and said:

“3 days of intense search of 3 things primarily 1. The keys of the “alleged” bungalow that I apparently own in Paris. Because summer holidays are around the corner. 2. The “alleged” receipt worth 5 crores to frame n keep for future pitching coz I’ve been refused that money before. 3. My memory of the 2013 raid that happened with me according to our honorable finance minister.” She ended her tweet with a postscript “not so sasti” anymore. It should be noted that Pannu in her tweet gave a clarification of not accepting the money she is alleged to have taken.

Her tweets came before Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that in 2013 these same Bollywood personalities were raided but there was no outcry at that time. “First of all, I am not commenting on any A or B individual. (But) since the names were taken, (I want to say) the very same names were raided in 2013,” said the Indian Finance Minister.

It should be noted that back in 2013, the Income Tax Department had carried out a raid at Anurag Kashyap’s office at Yari Road, Mumbai. The Gangs of Wasseypur director was charged guilty for tax evasion of Rs. 55 lakh.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra-based political party Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece Saamna condemned the Centre over the Anurag Kashyap, Taapsee Pannu income tax raids. In the editorial piece, Shiv Sena wrote that the celebrities are facing action because they were outspoken on their pro stance in the farmers’ agitation against the highly debated 3 farm laws passed by the government. The Saamna editorial went on to say that raid incidents like these, the arrest of Disha Ravi, and the “dirty campaigns” against actress Deepika Padukone, show India in a poor light.

The Saamna editorial went on to say, “Taapsee Pannu and Anurag Kashyap put forward their opinion frankly. This brings us to the question if the remaining transactions in Bollywood are fair and transparent, and irregularities are only with Taapsee Pannu and Anurag Kashyap… They are among the handful of people who stood by the farmers’ agitation. They are paying the price for it.”

Meanwhile, Taapsee Pannu’s boyfriend Mathias Boe, who’s also the Indian badminton team’s coach, took to Twitter to show support for her girlfriend and seek help on her behalf. In his tweet, Mathias tagged Indian Sports Minister Kiren Rijuju and asked for his help saying: “Finding myself in a bit of turmoil.  Representing for the first time as a coach for some great athletes, meanwhile, I-T department is raiding Taapsee’s houses back home, putting unnecessary stress on her family, especially her parents. @KirenRijiju please do something

To this, Rijuju replied with a sharp diplomatic tweet saying one must stick to one’s professional duties.

Taapsee Pannu’s boyfriend Mathias is a former Denmark-based badminton player who won a gold medal in the European Games in 2015. He was also the recipient of a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Currently, he is the coach of the Indian badminton team and is coaching the team for the Swiss Open.

Pannu-Kashyap Raid: The story so far 

The income-tax department on March 3, initiated raids on the properties of Bollywood filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, his actress Taapsee Pannu among several others in a tax-evasion case that’s linked with the now-dissolved Phantom Films production house.

The searches were carried out in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad across 30 properties and offices related to these celebrities. The searches also covered the properties linked with Shibhashish Sarkar, CEO of Reliance Entertainment Group, and the higher executives of talent management firms KWAN and Exceed.

After 2 days of inspection, the Income Tax department detected income irregularities worth Rs. 650 crores, and unearthed evidence of cash receipts amounting to Rs. 5 crores. The raids raised suspicion over the obvious link between the anti-establishment stance of Taapsee Pannu and Anurag Kashyap. However, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has defended the action.