In The Dock: Lalu Family Faces I-T Department Charges Under Benami Act

In a blow to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, daughter Misa Bharti and son Tejashwi Yadav have been charged for owning Benami assets by the Income Tax Department (I-T) today (20 June).

Rabri Devi, a former chief minister, Misa Bharti, a member of Parliament and Tejashwi Yadav, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, were formally charged under the Benami Transaction Act today, a day after the Income-Tax Department seized Benami properties of Bharti, her husband Shailesh Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav in the case, according to news agency ANI.

The department also served a notice to recover assets worth Rs 9 crore. The department had attached 12 plots of Bharti and Shailesh, sister Ragini and Chanda, and Tejashwi Yadav. The market value of the attached property is Rs 175 crore, but the book value (purchase rate on records) of the property is Rs 9.32 crore.

Tejashwi Yadav was quick to call the action as a political vendetta and said that he has not hidden anything and ready to submit his reply if he gets a summon.

Earlier, Bharti ignored two summons to appear before Delhi investigation wing of I-T department and for which she was slapped with two separate penalties of Rs 10,000.

Earlier, Bharti’s Chartered Accountant (CA), Rakesh Agrawal, was detained in connection with an Enforcement Directorate probe into a Rs 8,000 crore money laundering racket, involving two Delhi-based businessmen and a few political entities.