The Enforcement Directorate on Monday summoned Rashtriya Janta Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti in connection with a money laundering case, NDTV reported. She has been asked to depose before the investigating officer in Delhi on Tuesday and bring along documents such as those related to her personal finances, ED officials said.
Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar are being investigated over allegations that they acquired benami ownership of land at subsidised rates. A benami property is one bought in a certain person’s name though the real beneficiary is someone else.
Her husband is also expected to be summoned.
The development comes just two days after the ED conducted raids at three properties in New Delhi that allegedly belong to the couple. They can face up to seven years in jail and a heavy fine if convicted under the Benami Transactions Act.
Bharti and her husband are accused of having links with M/S Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited, a suspected shell company. The directorate’s action came almost two months after it had arrested chartered accountant Rajesh Agarwal for his alleged involvement in the money laundering racket worth Rs 8,000 crore.
Agarwal’s arrest on May 23 was also connected to an investigation by the Income Tax Department into dubious land deals worth Rs 1,000-crore linked to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family.
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