Benami land deals: Misa Bharti quizzed by IT officials for 5 hours

New Delhi June 21 (IANS) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav s daughter Misa Bharti on Wednesday appeared before the Income Tax Department officials here in connection with over Rs 1 000-crore benami (proxy) land deals case an official said.

According to the IT official Misa Bharti who is also a Rajya Sabha member was quizzed for over five hours. He however refused to share more details.

She appeared before the IT Department officials a day after the department attached over 12 properties of her relatives including husband Shailesh Kumar Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and others under the Benami Transactions Act 1988.

The IT Department had on Tuesday attached two assets of Lalu Prasad s kin in Delhi and several properties in Bihar after the department issued a provisional order under the Benami Transactions Act 1988 that came into force on November 1 last year.

Earlier this month Misa Bharti had skipped the department s summons twice -- on June 6 and 12. Her husband also skipped the summons on June 7 and 12.

The IT Department action came in the wake of the May 16 searches at 22 places in and around Delhi in connection with the alleged benami property deals involving RJD chief and his children Tejashwi Yadav Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and Misa Bharti.

Besides Lalu Prasad s residence IT officials carried out searches at the residence of party MP P.C. Gupta as well as several businessmen and real estate agents in Delhi and Haryana s Gurugram and Rewari.

Allegations of corruption against Lalu Prasad s wife former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and their children were raised by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

On May 22 the Enforcement Directorate arrested a chartered accountant Rajesh Kumar Agrawal allegedly linked to Misa Bharti and others from Delhi.

--IANS
aks/nir/vt