Probe against city Congress chief

The Income Tax department and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) have initiated inquiry against Congress city chief Kripashankar Singh on the allegations of evading taxes and amassing wealth.

The Income Tax department and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) have initiated inquiry against Congress city chief Kripashankar Singh on the allegations of evading taxes and amassing wealth.

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The inquiries have been initiated after a petition filed by Sanjay Tiwari alleging that the Congress MLA was involved in the Madhu Koda money laundering scam. Koda, the former Jharkhand CM, is in jail for his alleged involvement in a Rs 2,000-crore alleged hawala scam.

In March, Tiwari had moved the high court seeking orders to probe Singh’s alleged role in the Koda scam. The high court had asked the Union government to consider bringing in Singh in purview of the ongoing investigations of the scam.

In his petition, Tiwari has alleged that Singh, who migrated to Mumbai in 1970 and worked as a vegetable vendor, owns immovable properties worth more than Rs 250 crore and has crores of rupees in his and his family members’ bank accounts.

In his affidavit, Kailash Mangal, deputy director of Income Tax (Investigation), said the department had initiated an inquiry against Singh in March itself. The affidavit said the matter would be referred for further action in case any incriminating material is found against Singh or any of his family members.

The ACB too has initiated an inquiry against Singh. Sheshrao Suryavanshi, additional deputy commissioner of police (ACB) said in his affidavit that Tiwari’s allegations are being probed.

Suryavanshi added that a first information report would be registered against Singh only if prima facie offence is disclosed during the preliminary inquiry.

Singh claimed that it was “politically motivated”. He said the petitioner had used the same documents produced by his political rival Arun Deo, a Bharatiya Janata Party office bearer, and the contents of the complaint lodged by Deo and the petition were identical.

Singh denied knowledge about a diary purportedly seized from Koda and the allegation that the former Jharkhand CM gave him large sums of money.