A special Central Bureau of Investigation Court on Thursday summoned jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti (pictured above) and her husband Shailesh Kumar, to appear before it on March 5 in connection with a money laundering case, ANI reported.
Bharti and Kumar are being investigated for allegations that they acquired benami ownership of land at subsidised rates. A benami property is one bought in an individual’s name while the real beneficiary is someone else.
In May 2017, the agency had arrested chartered accountant Rajesh Agarwal for his alleged involvement in the money laundering racket worth Rs 8,000 crore. Agarwal’s arrest 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.
In July 2017, the Enforcement Directorate had raided three properties in New Delhi that allegedly belong to the couple. If convicted, they face up to seven years in jail and a heavy fine under the Benami Transactions Act. They are accused of having links with the suspected shell company.
The CBI registered a case against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejaswi Yadav on allegations of corruption during his tenure as railway minister in 2006. The investigative agency had raided more than 12 locations, including their houses in Delhi, Gurugram, Patna, Ranchi and Puri.
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