Lalu Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti was summoned by tax officials in benami land deal case (File)
Bihar politician Lalu Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti has been fined Rs 10,000 for skipping a summons and has been asked by Income Tax officials to appear for questioning next Monday.
The 42-year-old Rajya Sabha lawmaker and her husband Shailesh Kumar are being investigated over allegations that they acquired benami or proxy ownership of land at throwaway rates.
"We have issued her a show cause notice and also fresh summons for June 12," a tax official told news agency IANS.
Instead of showing up, Ms Bharti sent her lawyer to face Income Tax officials.
Asked about the new summons, she said, "Whatever reply I have to give, I shall give to the IT department."
Her husband Shailesh Kumar has also been summoned for questioning by taxmen tomorrow.
On May 16, the Income Tax Department had raided 22 places in and around Delhi in connection with alleged illegal property deals involving Lalu Yadav and his children - Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and Misa Bharti. The Income Tax department is investigating land deals worth around Rs 1,000 crore that it says involve the Yadav family.
Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) co-governs Bihar with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party.
Senior Bihar BJP leader Sushil Modi has accused Misa Bharti of laundering money through a shell company to buy a farmhouse at Delhi's Bijwasan area at a far cheaper price in 2008-09. Mr Modi has alleged that Ms Bharti and her husband are linked with a firm -- MS Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited -- which is suspected to have entered into secret deals for the purchase of the farm house.
Benami means a property without a name. In this kind of transaction the person who pays for the property uses a proxy.
Last month, a chartered accountant allegedly linked to Ms Bharti, Rajesh Aggarwal, was arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate. Officials believe she was one of the many high-profile people who used Mr Aggarwal to launder money.
With inputs from IANS