Benami land deal: Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti quizzed by I-T officials for five hours in Delhi

New Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti on Wednesday appeared before the Income Tax Department officials in Delhi in connection with over Rs 1,000-crore benami (proxy) land deals case, an official said. [caption id=“attachment_3471534” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Misa Bharti. News18[/caption] According to the I-T official, Bharti, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, was quizzed for over five hours. He, however, refused to share more details. She appeared before the I-T department officials a day after the department attached over 12 properties of her relatives, including husband Shailesh Kumar, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and others under the Benami Transactions Act, 1988. The I-T department had on Tuesday attached two assets of Lalu Prasad’s kin in Delhi and several properties in Bihar after the department issued a provisional order under the Benami Transactions Act, 1988, that came into force on November 1 last year. Earlier this month, Bharti had skipped the department’s summons twice — on 6 and 12 June . Her husband also skipped the summons on 7 and 12 June. The I-T department action came in the wake of the 16 May searches at 22 places in and around Delhi in connection with the alleged benami property deals involving RJD chief and his children Tejashwi Yadav, Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and Misa Bharti. Besides Lalu Prasad’s residence, I-T officials carried out searches at the residence of party MP PC Gupta as well as several businessmen and real estate agents in Delhi and Haryana’s Gurugram and Rewari. Allegations of corruption against Lalu Prasad’s wife, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and their children were raised by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi. On 22 May, the Enforcement Directorate arrested a chartered accountant, Rajesh Kumar Agrawal, allegedly linked to Misa Bharti and others, from Delhi.