The Income Tax Department on July 18 attached a ₹400-crore property belonging to Anand Kumar, the brother of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.
While IT Department sources confirmed that the property belonging to Mr. Kumar and his wife had been attached, details are still awaited.
Unconfirmed reports said the “benami” plot in Noida measured 7 acres.
Ms. Mayawati had recently re-appointed her brother, a businessman, as her deputy in the party. Mr. Kumar’s son, Akash Anand, who is seen as Ms. Mayawati’s successor in the BSP, was also appointed national coordinator, with the party overlooking its traditional stand against dynasty politics.
This is not the first time Mr. Kumar’s financial dealings and businesses have come under the scanner of officials.
A month after demonetisation of high-currency notes in 2016, the Enforcement Directorate had detected cash deposits of over ₹104 crore in an account belonging to the BSP and ₹1.43 crore in an account belonging to Mr. Kumar in a branch of United Bank of India in Delhi during a routine survey to check suspicious deposits.
Ms. Mayawati had then accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of misusing official machinery to “target” and “malign” her party and its top leaders. Ms. Mayawati had said all deposits were made in banks in accordance with tax “norms” as part of the party’s “routine exercise.”