I-T summons for Lalu’s daughter

New Delhi, May 24

The Income Tax Department has issued summons to RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s MP daughter Misa Bharti and her husband in connection with its probe in Rs 1,000-crore alleged benami land deals and a tax evasion case.

This follows the arrest of chartered accountant Rajesh Kumar Agrawal by the Enforcement Directorate on May 22. Agrawal is accused of aiding illegal transactions involving Lalu’s kin.

Officials said the department had asked Bharti, a Rajya Sabha member, and her husband Shailesh Kumar to appear before the investigating officer (IO) here in the first week of June.

The department had on May 16 searched multiple premises of about two dozen entities connected to this case and seized documents and computer hardware.

They said the summons to Bharti and Kumar were part of the investigation and their statements would be recorded. The couple are accused of having with a firm — Ms Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited — suspected of having carrying out benami deals for purchase of a farm house in Delhi’s Bijwasan area. Certain other property deals are also under the scanner of the taxman, they said. — PTI