BHOPAL: A below poverty line (BPL) cardholder primitive tribal man hailing from Ashok Nagar district has been found to be a man of crores in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal.
The BPL card holder Kalyan Singh alias Kalla Saharia, who hails from Saharia primitive tribe in Ashok Nagar district of state’s Gwalior-Chambal region earns Rs 350 per month, but owned over 50 patches of agricultural land presently worth over Rs 25 crores in three villages Kakaria, Mahabadia and Daulatpura under Huzur tehsil of Bhopal district.
Subsequent investigations into the 50-plus properties by the income tax department revealed that these properties were purchased between 2010 and 2015 for around Rs 6.5 crore, payment of which was made from the BPL card holder Kalyan Singh in cash as well as via cheques from his bank account.
Further, probe by the IT department sleuths revealed that the funds to purchase the 50-plus patches of land flowed into the BPL card holder’s account from a father-son duo heading a major building and real estate group in Bhopal.
Primary probe has revealed that since the entire land purchased between 2010 and 2015 was owned by tribals, hence it cannot be purchased by anyone else, except a tribal. Taking advantage of the poor economic status of Kalyan Singh, the builder and real estate group head father-son duo purchased the 50-plus patches of land from tribals in the name of Saharia tribal daily wager Kalyan Singh.
Till now the probe has established that the 50 patches of land spread in an area of around 22 acres were owned on paper by the impoverished Saharia tribal man, but the actual beneficiaries were the father-son duo builders, which made these properties prime facie come under The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, official sources told The New Indian Expres.
With the probe by the IT department so far prima facie establishing that the 22 acres land owned by the Saharia tribal man was actually benami properties, whose actual beneficiary was to the father-son duo builders, the entire land which is largely being used for agricultural purpose has been provisionally attached for 90 days under the Benami law.
Show cause notices have been served by the IT Department to the tribal BPL card holder owning the land and the actual beneficiary father-son duo. Its copies are also with the revenue department officials in Huzur tehsil in Bhopal district, official sources added.
The individuals served the show cause notices under the Benami law have been asked by the IT department to show cause why these provisionally attached properties shouldn’t be treated as Benami properties.
According to informed sources in the IT department, with the provisional attachment of these 50 patches of land in Bhopal district, the department has attached 250-plus alleged Benami properties worth over Rs 100 crores in financial year 2018-19, all over Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.