Patna: The Income Tax department on Tuesday questioned Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son, Tejashwi Yadav, and wife, Rabri Devi, in cases related to his alleged benami properties.
These cases include the one involving a private company taking over a railways-managed hotel allegedly in exchange of a prime piece of land when Lalu was the railway minister.
I-T officials called Tejashwi and Rabri at its Patna office. Tejashwi reached at around 10.30 am and was questioned till 4.30 pm in the evening. Rabri joined the investigation at 2.30 pm.
Sources in the I-T department told News18 that a questionnaire was prepared in advance. "Tejashwi was uncomfortable while answering few questions", the source said.
The department had seized 12 plots and other real estate properties on June 27 which were registered in the name of companies owned by Lalu's family members. Three of them are located in Patna and Delhi. A farmhouse in Vijwasan and a bungalow in New Friends Colony were also attached.
According to the I-T department, all the attached plots are benami properties.
The market value of the total attached property is worth Rs. 175 crore, whereas the book value of the attached property is Rs. 9.32 crore.
According to the I-T department, awarding the contracts of two IRCTC-run hotels to a private company, Sujata Hotels, by the then railway minister Lalu Yadav was also done to gain benami properties. The owners of Sujata Hotels transferred three acres of prime land in Patna to Lara Projects owned by Lalu family, I-T department claims.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also filed an FIR in this case on June 27 under the Money Laundering Act.
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