I-T brings charges under benami Act against Lalu’s wife, daughter and son

New Delhi, June 20

The Income Tax Department has brought charges under Benami Transactions Act against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s ex-chief minister wife Rabri Devi, daughter Misa Bharti and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav in connection with its investigation into land deals worth Rs 1,000 crore and suspicions of tax evasion.

The department has served notices to have properties of Lalu’s wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, daughter Misa Bharti, her husband Shailesh Kumar, and his other daughters Chanda and Ragini Yadav.

The attachment notice, accessed by PTI, has been issued under Section 24(3) of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act and Lalu’s kin have been identified as “beneficiaries” of the benami assets.

The department has attached immovable assets such as land, plots and buildings in Delhi and Patna bearing a “deed” value of Rs 9.32 crore, although taxmen have estimated their current market value at Rs 170-180 crore.

The department has also attached nine plots in Phulwari Sharif in Patna — reportedly the site of an upcoming mall.

The development comes after the Income Tax Department’s raids 22 places in and around Delhi in connection with alleged “benami” property deals involving Yadav and his children Tejashwi Yadav, Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and Misa Bharti on May 23.

Benami properties are those in which the real beneficiary is not the one in whose name the property has been purchased.

Violation of the Act carries rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years and a hefty fine.

The central government enacted the 1988 Act on November 1, 2016.

The RJD chief had said after last month’s raids that he wasn’t afraid and would continue to fight “fascist forces”.

“BJP mein himmat nahi hai ki Lalu ki awaz ko daba sake… Lalu ki awaz dabayenge to desh bhar me karoron Lalu khare ho jayenge… Main gidarbhabhki se nahi darne wala hoon (BJP does not have the courage to stifle my voice… If it tries to silence one Lalu, crore of Lalu will come forward. I am not scared of empty threats),” he had said in a series of tweets after the search operation.

The BJP had also accused Yadav, 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.