The Income Tax (IT) department conducted the raids in several cities in the country on the premises of popular healthcare chain, Apollo Hospitals, on charges of alleged tax evasion.

One of the officials said, “Yes. It is going on (raids on Apollo Hospitals Group) since morning. About 50 teams have undertaken the raids.” Even the company confirmed the same.

In a statement, one of the Apollo hospitals spokesperson said, “The IT department visited our hospitals today and we extended our complete cooperation to them. We have always conducted ourselves with the highest degree of diligence and would like to reassure our patients, shareholders and stakeholders that we shall uphold their trust and faith in us.”

Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals, is one of the popular and largest healthcare service providers in the country, with a presence in over 60 locations and about 7,500 beds. Dr Prathap C Reddy founded these hospitals.

The IT raids are conducted by IT department investigations wing in Chennai. The searches were conducted in various cities, including in New Delhi.

They said some documents relating to the company's businesses and patient services logs were seized and are been looked into.

Today, the stock of the company closed up 1.35% or Rs 19.60 at Rs 1,466.75 per scrip on the BSE.

By Phani Ch