Net Ram, sources said, was among the most powerful bureaucrats during Mayawati’s multiple tenures as chief minister.The Income-Tax department on Tuesday searched properties linked to retired Uttar Pradesh-cadre IAS officer and aide to BSP chief Mayawati, Net Ram, on charges of alleged tax evasion. The searches at 12 locations in Delhi and Lucknow were based on alleged tax evasion amounting to over Rs 90 crore, according to a senior tax department official.
“The residences of Net Ram are being searched. The department’s probe is linked to some bogus entries done by him amounting to over Rs 90 crore,” said the official but refused to disclose the total amount of tax evasion detected by the tax department.
Net Ram, sources said, was among the most powerful bureaucrats during Mayawati’s multiple tenures as chief minister. A 1979-batch IAS officer, Net Ram was first secretary to the chief minister and between 2007 and 2012 served as principal secretary to chief minister during Mayawati’s last stint.
In Delhi, he last served as DG, Aeronautical Training Institute before he retired in 2016. In his career, he also held charge of departments such as Sugar Industries & Cane and Excise, Stamp & Registration and Food and Civil Supplies. Incidentally, after the CAG flagged irregularities in the sale of 21 sugar mills on Net Ram’s watch, former CM Akhilesh Yadav had ordered a probe and the state Lokayukta had sought a reply from Net Ram. —(With inputs from ENS, Lucknow)
