Many Bihar MLAs under lens for undeclared assets
Most number of legislators belong to RJD.
Patna: Over a dozen political leaders, mostly legislators, from Bihar are under the income-tax department’s scanner for acquiring disproportionate assets in the last few years.
Based on the assessment done by the department, these legislators may face severe penalties on their unexplained assets. Sources claim that the maximum number of legislators, who are under the scanner, belong to Lalu Yadav’s party Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Sources said that the income-tax (I-T) department has initiated the investigation on the basis of the affidavit provided to the Election Commission (EC). According to assessment, their assets grew by 200 per cent between 2010 and 2015. The I-T department is also probing the exact value of assets declared by the legislators. Sources further said that “most of the legislators didn’t provide actual details of their assets in the affidavit submitted to the EC.”
The I-T department is also closely analysing various land deals that took place in the last few years. The agency, sources claim, feels that several legislators did not declare gains from sale and purchase of properties.
The legislators who are on the list include Nawada MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav; Patepur MLA Prema Chaudhary; Sandesh MLA Arun Kumar; Shamim Ahmed from Narkatia; and Sri Narayan Yadav, a former minister and MLA from Sahebpur Kamal.
RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav, who is a history-sheeter and currently lodged in jail for allegedly raping a minor, is also under the scanner for unexplained growth in his assets. He is also facing charges in connection with extortion cases.
The crackdown against RJD legislators may cause a major setback for Lalu Yadav who, along with his family members including two MLA sons Tej Pratap and Tejashwi Yadav, is already facing a string of corruption charges.
The state’s largest political family is being probed for their role in laundering money through various shell companies to buy properties at high profile locations in the country including New Delhi and Patna.