IT conducts raids, surveys in benami land deals of Lalu’s kin

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi / Patna : The investigation wing of Income Tax department on May 16, 2017, conducted raids at 12 and surveys 10 locations in Delhi, Gurgaon and Rewari to probe into charges of alleged benami deals linked to kin RJD chief Lalu Prasad and others. A team of about 100 tax department officials and police personnel are conducting the raids, they said. People and businessmen connected to the land deal involving Lalu’ kin are being searched, said IT sources.

The BJP had last week accused Prasad, his MP-daughter Misa Bharti and his two sons, both Bihar government ministers, of being involved in corrupt land deals and asked the central government to probe one such transaction in Delhi. Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had alleged that these transactions were a case of quid pro quo as they date back to the period when Lalu Prasad was the railway minister, and dared Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to take action against him. But, Nitish on May 15 said that things related to Company Act come under the purview of the central government. If the BJP thinks there is some merit in its allegations, it should approach the law, Nitish had said. Lalu, on the other hand, had claimed all rules and regulations were followed in land deals by his daughter Misa Bharti, MP, and other family members.

One such land deal involving Lalu Prasad and his family members is in Bijwasan in Delhi, alleged Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. All the companies allegedly owned by Lalu Prasad’s family members for the purpose of these land transactions had no employees, no business activities and no turnover, Prasad had claimed. Bihar’s biggest shopping mall spread over 7.5 lakh square feet is coming up at Patna as part of such dubious transactions, he had alleged recently.