NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department today conducted raids and surveys on at least 22 locations in Delhi and adjoining areas on charges of alleged benami deals worth Rs 1,000 crore linked to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and others.Officials said the department began raiding the premises of some prominent businessmen and real estate agents in Delhi, Gurgaon, Rewari and few others since early morning.The searches are also being conducted at the premises of the son of RJD MP P C Gupta and few other businessmen.While raids are being conducted at a dozen locations, ten other official premises are being surveyed by the I-T department, they said. "People and businessmen connected to the land deal involving Lalu Prasad and his family are being searched. "The politics of Lalu Prasad has become politics of loot. Land worth crores of rupees was grabbed for a pittance," he had said.One such land deal involving Lalu Prasad and his family members is in Bijwasan in Delhi, he said. "We expect the central government to take appropriate action," Ravi Shankar Prasad had said.All the companies owned by Lalu Prasad's family members for the purpose of these land transactions had no employees, no business activities and no turnover, Ravi Shankar Prasad had claimed.Bihar's biggest shopping mall spread over 7.5 lakh square feet is coming up in Patna as part of such dubious transactions, he had alleged at a news conference held here.

Source: Economic Times May 16, 2017 05:38 UTC