Rashtriya Janata Dal chief lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti on Monday skipped questioning by tax officials for the second time in about a week in connection with a probe into a Rs 1,000 crore alleged benami land deal and tax evasion case.
Income Tax Department officials said it has decided to issue a second penalty show cause notice of Rs 10,000 to Bharti for non-compliance of summons even as they are mulling the next course of action, including giving her a fresh and a third chance to appear for questioning.
She had not appeared in person on June 6, following which the department had issued a show cause notice under section 131 of the IT Act, asking why a fine of Rs 10,000 should not be imposed on her.
Bharti, who was supposed to appear before the investigating officer of the case on Monday, is understood to have cited certain personal reasons for not doing so.
Her husband Shailesh Kumar is scheduled to depose before the IO on Tuesday. He too had given a miss to the questioning on June 7.
The department wants to question the couple to take the probe further into the case, wherein the taxman had conducted multiple searches last month. A chartered accountant, Rajesh Kumar Agrawal, allegedly linked with Bharti and others, was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 22.
Agrawal is alleged to have aided in illegal transactions involving lalu’s kin.
Officials had earlier said the summons to Bharti and Kumar were part of the probe into the case and their statements will be recorded.