Misa Bharti fails to appear before IT department, slapped with fine

Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter and her husband were summoned for questioning in a land scam case involving Rs 1,000 crore benami property

The Income Tax department has issued show cause notice to Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter and RJD MP Misa Bharti. Misa who was summoned to appear before officials for questioning in a land scam case failed to turn up on Tuesday. The Income Tax department slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on Misa for failing to appear in person and issued fresh summons.

The IT department in fresh summons has asked Misa Bharti to appear on June 12 while her husband, Shailesh has been asked to appear on Wednesday. Misa Bharti chose to send her lawyers instead of appearing in person in the alleged Benami Rs 1,000 crore land deals case.

It was alleged that companies of Misa and Shailesh received money through bogus firms through which they are said to have purchased a farmhouse In Delhi.The IT department wants to question the couple to take the probe further in this case, where the taxman had conducted multiple searches last month.

A chartered accountant, Rajesh Kumar Agrawal, allegedly linked to Bharti and others was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 22. Agrawal is alleged to have aided in illegal transactions involving Lalu's kin.

Officials had said that the summonses to Bharti and Kumar are part of the investigation in the case and their statements will be recorded.

The couple is alleged to have links with a firm-Ms Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited - which is suspected to have entered into benami deals for purchase of a farmhouse in Delhi's Bijwasan area. Certain other property deals are also under the scanner of the taxman, they had said.

I-T department officials had said they will apply 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.

The action under this new law will be over and above the legal proceedings under the Income Tax Act, 1961, which relates to charges of domestic tax evasion. Tax department officials had said Lalu's kin held some of the properties under their scanner in a 'benami' way. Benami properties are those in which the real beneficiary is not the one in whose name the property has been purchased.

With agency inputs.