Mining Minister Gyatri Prajapati, against whom many witnesses reportedly turned out to give evidences of large scale illegal mining and rampant corruption in the Department, seems to have trapped in further trouble as Income Tax Department furnished details of his financial transaction for the last three years to the lokayukta Justice (retd) NK Mehrotra, investigating the said matter against the minister and his family members.
Mehrotra has sought Gyatri’s financial details since he became minister in the present Government. Sources in the lokayukta office confirmed that soon Mehrotra had dispatched a reminder notice to the Chief Income Tax Commissioner of lucknow Circle, to provide him full details of the information filed by minister Gyatri Prajapati, in his IT return for the last three financial years i.e 2001-12, 20012-13, and 2013-14, the officials concerned in IT office lucknow, immediately dispatched full details to the state ombudsman. It may be mentioned that Prajapati became minister after Samajwadi Party came to power in March 2012.
Sources said that the lokayukt had yet to look into details of Gyatri’s business transactions and he was waiting for more details of about more than a a dozen companies run by Gyatri’s sons, along with IT returs of Gyatri’s wife filed in Sasaram at Patna. Sources said that after receiving full IT details of the entire family, Mehrotra would see that how the income of the family grew after Gyatri became minister in the state cabinet.
Sources further said that Mehrotra also issued summon to Ram Sahai and Vikas Verma, both alleged close aides of Prajapati. However, Ram Sahai not turned up and the summon to call Verma could not be served as he said to have gone for darshan at Vaishneo Devi shrine. It may be mentioned that recently Income Tax Department confirmed that Ram Sahai had procured eight properties worth over Rs 77 lakh in last two years but had not filed any return in the above period.
Sources said that Mehrotra had asked Sahai to tell him from where the above properties, which is alleged to be Rsbenami’ property of Prajapati, came from. Interestingly, while Ram Sahai denied his association with Prajapati, but when the police went to serve summon as his house in Bijnore under Ashiyana police station, one woman claiming herself to be Sahai’s daughter-in-law informed that to serve summon to Sahai, the cops had to go to Prajapati’s house as Ram Sahai lived there.