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A PIECE of paper believed to have been seized during raids at the Kolkata Knight Riders’ ( KKR) office in West Bengal may have given the income tax ( I- T) department clinching evidence to nail the IPL team.

Sources said that while conducting the raids at the Cricket Association of Bengal’s premises in Kolkata, where the KKR has one of its offices, the investigators found many documents missing. They are, however, understood to have found a chit containing vital leads.

While officials did not reveal what the chit contained, they claimed they had sufficient proof to put KKR on the mat. The team is run by Red Chillies Entertainment, which is owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan along with other stakeholders such as friend and actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta. The latter is now under scrutiny of the tax authorities.

Sources said the subsequent raids in Mumbai and summons to the KKR to submit relevant documents and information were attempts to unravel what the I- T department claimed was the dubious source of funding to the team. Alluding to Mehta, the authorities said they were planning to trace the source of funds or route through which he invested the money. The taxmen believe Mehta could be a front for someone else investing money in the team.

The I- T department is currently investigating all the teams that have routed money through Malaysia. Interestingly, while Khan has claimed that Mehta and Juhi were in the venture from the beginning, I- T officials said they had evidence to prove that Mehta came into the picture only in 2009.

The agency is ascertaining why Mehta’s name was given as an owner when he was not a part of the team ownership.

The Enforcement Directorate, which is also simultaneously investigating the money trail in the IPL, recorded the statement of actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband, Raj Kundra, on Friday. Kundra has a stake in the Rajasthan Royals team, which is under the scanner of the investigating authorities.

They believe that the franchisee not only has money invested in it through “ dubious and questionable means”, but also is a front for IPL chairman Lalit Modi.