The Income Tax (IT) Department on Tuesday seized benami equity worth Rs 254 crore held by Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. According to IT officials, the provisional order for seizing anonymous stocks in Puri’s name was issued under the Anonymous Property Transaction Act.
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As per IT sources, the investment of Rs 254 crores was generated by over-invoicing the imports of solar panels in the name of Hindustan Power Projects Pvt. Ltd (HEPCL), a shell company allegedly floated by Puri. HEPCL was operated by Rajeev Saxena in Dubai, who is an accused in the Augusta Westland (chopper) scandal and is currently under arrest by Enforcement Directorate (ED). Puri, however, is under questioning by the law enforcement and economic intelligence agency.
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Earlier, the ED had, in a Delhi court on Monday said that Puri had received a certain amount in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam. It had opposed the interim bail petition filed by Puri before Special Judge Arvind Kumar. Yesterday, the court had stayed Puri’s arrest for a day.
ED today argued in the Delhi Court that nephew of Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, Puri holds sway and is reportedly responsible for the murder of a witness.
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HEPCL Chairman Puri secured interim bail in the case on July 27 and the court had put a stay on his arrest till July 29. Hearing on behalf of Puri, advocate AM Sanghvi had said that ED wants to arrest him because his maternal uncle is the state’s chief minister.
Earlier, Puri had fled the ED office when he was being questioned in connection with the Agusta Westland chopper scandal. According to reports, Puri escaped the agency’s office in Delhi on the pretext of using the washroom.