Mafia-turned-politician and former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Mukhtar Ansari is again facing action by the Income Tax Department under the allegation of keeping benami property worth crores.
On April 27, mafia Mukhtar Ansari was served a notice by the Income Tax Department’s Lucknow unit at Banda Jail, where he’s currently lodged. The notice relates to recent proceedings by the I-T department in which around Rs 12 crores of Mukhtar Ansari’s benami property were attached. It was discovered that the property was registered in the name of Ganesh Dutt Mishra when the authorities traced it.
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The notice from the I-T department has asked for details about Mukhtar Ansari’s relationship with Mishra for further investigation. As per the reports, a senior jail officer confirmed that Mukhtar Ansari had been served the notice. There are around 23 benami properties of the mafia traced by the I-T department, according to the sources.
It was discovered that in Ghazipur, a property was registered under the name of Ganesh Dutt Mishra, an employee of Mukhtar Ansari. The property was worth around Rs 12 crore and measures 0.207 hectares. Officials learned that the land in Mauja Kupurpur was registered on November 25, 2017, while scanning the records. The previous owners were Susha and Geeta Rai, from whom Mishra purchased the land for Rs 3.71 crore.
While probing the financial transaction of Aaghaaz Constructions, Mishra’s role came up in the investigation. In Aaghaaz Constructions, Mukhtar Ansari’s wife, Afsa Ansari, owns 1500 shares, while his father-in-law Jamshed Raza got 3425 shares; meanwhile, the son of the mafia, Abbas Ansari, has 19170 shares.
Under the name of Mishra, the construction company took a loan of Rs 1.06 crore from Union Bank of India, and the property of Mishra was mortgaged, which was Rs 90 lakh worth. All these points are elaborated on in the notice and sent to the jailed mafia for his response.
The probe by the I-T department was started in 2021 when Mukhtar Ansari, his wife and son was booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). As per the information by the police, Mishra was a fourth-class employee of the mafia, and his name has been used on several properties. Till now, Mukhtar Ansari and his associates have had property worth Rs 290 crore linked to them across the state, which is being lawfully demolished or confiscated by the Yogi government.
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