Mulayam Singh Yadav let off, but second wife in tax net

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav have got a clean chit in the disproportionate assets case from the CBI, but Mulayam’s second wife Sadhna Yadav and her son Prateek Yadav may soon face questions from the Income Tax (IT) department in this matter.

CBI, while closing the case against the father and son on September 19, wrote to the IT department asking them to look into certain assets acquired by Sadhna Yadav between 1993 and 2005.

“The alleged benami properties acquired by Sadhna in the name of her minor son (during 1993-2005) Prateek Yadav have not been found to have any links with Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members,” the CBI had said in its closure report last month.

CBI’s status report to the Supreme Court in 2007 had said assets worth Rs 2.8 crore were acquired in the name of Sadhna Yadav and Prateek Yadav from 1993 to 2005, which include certain plots and a house in Lucknow. A CBI official said that since the mother and son were private citizens and not public officials, the investigative agency did not have the jurisdiction to proceed against them independently.

The IT department has now been asked by the CBI to check if Sadhna Yadav had declared these assets in her income tax returns and how she had managed to acquire such huge properties against her legal income.