Income tax authorities have issued summons to RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav‘s daughter Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar in connection with alleged Rs 1,000-crore benami property deals in the Bijwasan area of Delhi through a web of shell companies.
Shailesh Kumar was supposed to appear before the investigating officer (IO) of the case on 7 June, but he did not show up nor gave any valid reason for not appearing. Therefore, a penalty notice of Rs 10,000 was issued on Shailesh Kumar by the IT department.
A similar penalty notice was issued on Misa Bharti as well, of Rs 10,000, for non-compliance of summons under section 131 of the Income Tax Act, on 6 June in connection with probe in the Rs 1,000 crore alleged benami land deals and tax evasion case.
Misa has now been asked to appear before the Investigating Officer on 12 June and Shailesh Kumar to appear on 13 June.
Chartered accountant, Rajesh Kumar Agrawal, has also been alleged for helping Misa Bharti and her husband for the transactions in benami property deals and was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 22.
The couple also supposedly have connection with a firm Ms Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited, which is suspected to have entered into benami deals for purchase of a farm house in Delhi’s Bijwasan area. The department is expected to slap provisions of the newly-enacted Benami Transactions Act, 1988, which became operational from November 1 last year, in this case. The law provides for a maximum punishment of seven years in jail and a fine.
However, regardless of all the allegations charged against his daughter and son in law, Lalu Prasad Yadav boldly said that he was not scared at all and will continue to fight against fascist forces. He further added that BJP did not have the courage to suppress his voice. If it tries to silence one Lalu, crores of Lalu will come forward and that he is not scared of empty threats.
The BJP had also accused Lalu, Bharti and his two sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap, both ministers in the Bihar government, of involvement in corrupt land deals worth over Rs 1,000 crore, and asked the central government to probe one such transaction in Delhi.