The Indian Directorate of Investigation, Income Tax, raided the houses and offices of several leading Hindi film personalities yesterday (September 27).

A team of 150 officers fanned out to raid more than 30 premises belonging to film stars, directors and one distributor. Among those targeted were actresses Aishwarya Rai, Urmila Matondkar and Rani Mukherjee, actors Salman Khan and Amrish Puri and film-makers Yash Johar, Karan Johar and Yash Chopra.

A large amount of cash was reportedly found during a raid on one of the actresses. Elsewhere, 15 lockers were also seized along with documents relating to property investments.

The government is targeting the film industry due to rumours of income being under-reported. The Indian film industry is a favourite hunting ground for tax inspectors as it attracts attention and sends a message to all tax evaders across the country.