LUCKNOW The accountant of a Varanasi-based chartered accountant has been held for operating two Benami bank accounts and a few shell companies for jailed MLA Abbas Ansari. According to the Chitrakoot police unit, the accused accountant would give money to different people to provide illegal facilities to MLA Ansari inside the Chitrakoot jail, pursue cases against him in courts, and carry out other activities.
Police said that the accountant, identified as Shahbaz Alam, has been arrested from Varanasi. He has been sent to jail for operating the Benami bank accounts. By definition, Benami bank accounts are those that are held by an owner through proxies.
The latest revelations come as the police were investigating the nexus between jail authorities and the incarcerated MLA. Earlier in February, MLA’s wife Nikhat Bano and his driver Niyaz Ansari were held. It was found that Niyaz would drive Nikhat to the prison and get her inside without making an official entry into the jail register. Nikhat would then spend time with her MLA husband in the jail. It was also revealed that the jail authorities were in cahoots with the MLA and his henchmen.
“While tracking the money trail, police also discovered the role of Shahbaz Alam. He worked as an agent for Abbas Ansari. Alam would provide money to different people through separate sources. He was operating two Benami bank accounts. Transactions worth ₹92 lakh and ₹87 lakh respectively were made from the two accounts. Also, around ₹2 lakh was transferred to the contractor of the Chitrakoot jail canteen Navneet Sachan,” said Chitrakoot Vrinda SP Shukla.
{{/usCountry}}“While tracking the money trail, police also discovered the role of Shahbaz Alam. He worked as an agent for Abbas Ansari. Alam would provide money to different people through separate sources. He was operating two Benami bank accounts. Transactions worth ₹92 lakh and ₹87 lakh respectively were made from the two accounts. Also, around ₹2 lakh was transferred to the contractor of the Chitrakoot jail canteen Navneet Sachan,” said Chitrakoot Vrinda SP Shukla.
{{/usCountry}}She added, “Alam was arrested based on the evidence found against him. During interrogation, he confessed that MLA Ansari’s aides used to provide him with money. This money was transferred to different people (as told by Ansari’s aides) through two bank accounts and shell companies. The money was used to provide facilities to MLA Ansari in the jail and pursue cases against him and his family.”
Police will share all information with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax department to find out more details related to the money trail and its source, the SP further said. So far, seven people -- including Shahbaz Alam, local Samajwadi Party leader of Chitrakoot Faraz Khan, canteen contractor Navneet Sachan and four jail personnel -- have been held in the case. They allegedly helped MLA Ansari meet his wife in the jail. The arrests exposed their nexus with the local jail authorities.
Following the episode, MLA Ansari was shifted to the Kasganj jail. He is the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA from Mau Sadar seat. He has been lodged in jail based on a case filed by the ED. His father, Mukhtar Ansari, a mafioso-turned politician, is also lodged in the jail.