CBI court grants bail to Lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti, her husband in money laundering case
The bench barred the two from leaving the country without the court’s permission.
A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation in Delhi on Monday granted bail to Misa Bharti – daughter of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav – and her husband in a money laundering case, ANI reported. The bench, however, barred them from leaving the country without the court’s permission.
Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar are accused of acquiring benami property at subsidised rates. A benami property is one that is bought in an individual’s name, though someone else is the real beneficiary. If convicted, Bharti and Kumar face up to seven years in jail and a heavy fine under the Benami Transactions Act.
In its chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate said the couple was actively involved in transactions and deals related to the land and are guilty of money laundering, PTI reported. The agency accused the two of purchasing a farm house in Delhi in the name of their company M/s Mishal Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd in 2008-’09.
The Enforcement Directorate said Bharti had claimed that her husband and their chartered accountant, late Sandeep Sharma, handled the firm’s day-to-day business activities of the firm. “So they can explain the company’s business profile during that period,” she said in her statement to the agency.
On Sunday, the CBI court took cognisance of the chargesheet and summoned the couple to appear before it on Monday.
In May 2017, the agency arrested chartered accountant Rajesh Agarwal for his alleged involvement in the money laundering racket worth Rs 8,000 crore. His arrest was also connected to an Income Tax Department investigation into dubious land deals worth Rs 1,000 crore with links to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family.
In July 2017, the Enforcement Directorate raided three properties in New Delhi that allegedly belong to the couple. The CBI had registered a case against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejaswi Yadav on allegations of corruption during his tenure as railway minister in 2006. The investigative agency had raided more than 12 locations, including their houses in Delhi, Gurugram, Patna, Ranchi and Puri.
