PATNA: Former Bihar deputy chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav, his mother and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, and her eldest daughter Misa Bharti, a Rajya Sabha member, were Tuesday interrogated for hours by Income Tax department officials in connection with the alleged amassing of several benami properties.
While Tejaswi reached the Income Tax offices at 10.30 am, Rabri Devi reached there at 2 pm along with Misa Bharti.
Officials of the Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier questioned Misa and her husband Shailesh Kumar in New Delhi in connection with the couple’s benami property deals in Delhi-NCR.
The questioning, conducted by a team, led by deputy commissioner of Income Tax who flew in from Delhi, lasted for several hours, said sources.
First, Tejaswi was grilled about his assets on which he had made no mention in his affidavit to the Election Commission of India during the 2015 Bihar assembly polls.
Then Rabri Devi separately faced questions about several properties she received as gifts from various people over the past 15 years.
The mother and son were then grilled in a joint session, added the sources.
Though the Income Tax department’s notice for interrogation was received by Rabri Devi, Tejaswi and Misa over a fortnight ago, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav had requested the department to allow them time after the party’s mega rally of opposition parties in Patna on August 27. The department had agreed and August 29 was fixed for interrogation sessions, said sources.
Tej Pratap Yadav, Tejaswi’s elder brother and former Bihar health minister, was also reportedly summoned by the Income Tax department for interrogation. But he sought a later date, claiming his voice had suffered distortion as he had blew a conch shell a number of times at the rally at Gandhi Maidan.
Hundreds of RJD workers gathered outside the Income Tax department offices at Patna’s IT Golambar when Rabri, Tejaswi and Misa were present inside. Tejaswi left the premises at 6.10 pm while Rabri Devi left with Misa Bharti at 6.40 pm.
The three leaders looked exhausted and refused to speak to the media. The windows of their cars stayed tightly shut.