New Delhi: Close on the heels of a tax raid on an Uttar Pradesh businessman that uncovered eye-popping piles of cash but raised questions whether it had found its intended target, opposition Samajwadi Party’s Pushpraj ‘Pampi’ Jain found himself searched by authorities this morning.

The I-T department said searches were underway in Kannauj, Kanpur, the national capital region, Surat, Mumbai and a few other places, and about 20 premises were being covered as part of the raid.

The SP said the I-T department that it termed as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) dear ally has finally raided premises of the SP MLC and other perfume traders in Kannauj after the major failure of the last time. Taking to Twitter, the party said, ‘The scared BJP leadership is openly misusing the central agencies… People are watching, will answer through their votes.’

The raid comes amid a fog of speculation surrounding the huge haul at the Kanpur and Kannauj premises of another businessman Piyush Jain, which led to the recovery of Rs 196 crore in cash and 23 kg gold.