Land scam: I-T attaches chhole vendor’s properties

Almost after five years since the multi-crore land scam involving MCD and DDA officials came to light, the Income Tax (I-T) department has attached five properties of the scam’s alleged kingpin — the chhole-bhature vendor-turned-millionaire Ashok Malhotra. HT reports.

Almost after five years since the multi-crore land scam involving MCD and DDA officials came to light, the Income Tax (I-T) department has attached five properties of the scam’s alleged kingpin — the chhole-bhature vendor-turned-millionaire Ashok Malhotra.

HT Image

The department seized five of his properties at Mukherjee Nagar and Jahangirpuri after having pasted recovery notices. The owners of the said properties are prohibited and restrained from either transferring or changing ownership. The properties belong to Malhotra, his wife Pushpa and son Himanshu.

The I-T department has computed a tax liability of Rs 6.30 crore on Malhotra, Rs 35 lakh on Pushpa and more than Rs 33 lakh on Himanshu.

A special CBI court had already granted the department permission to defreeze Malhotra’s bank accounts for realisation of tax arrears.

Malhotra, who began as a roadside chhole-bhature vendor became a contractor of the Delhi Vidhan Sabha canteen. His ambition to get rich prompted him to get grab and sell several plots meant for resettling slum dwellers of Yamuna Pushta in Savda Ghevra village.

He and his associates got the plots allotted in the name of non-existent applicants by submitting fake papers. Subsequently, they sold these plots on the basis of forged general powers of attorney in collusion with MCD officials and made crores. Malhotra was arrested on August 6, 2007 after the scam came to light.