400 benami deals spotted, Rs 530 crore properties seized

May 25, 2017

New Delhi, May 25: The income tax department identified more than 400 benami transactions up to May 23 and immovable properties were attached in 40 cases valued at over Rs 530 crore as the authorities stepped up their fight against black money.benami

Sources said 200 other properties were also identified as part of an ambitious crackdown on benami assets. They added that searches were conducted on 10 senior government officials during the past one month.

Provisional attachment of properties, a precursor to final attachment, was done in more than 240 cases and the market value of these properties was estimated at more than Rs 600 crore, the tax department said in a statement.

The drive against benami transactions includes deposits in bank accounts, plots of land, flats and jewellery. The tax authorities have also set up 24 dedicated benami prohibition units across the country for better implementation of the Benami Act.

Immovable properties have been attached in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In one case, in Jabalpur, the benamidar, a driver, was found to be the owner of land worth Rs 7.7 crore.

The real owner is a MP-based listed company, his employer. In Mumbai, a professional was found to be holding several immovable properties in the name of shell companies, the tax department said.

It added that, in another case, in Sanganer, Rajasthan, a jeweller was found to be the owner of nine immovable properties in the name of his former employee, a man of no means.

The I-T department initiated actions under the new Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 in November last year.

According to the Act, a benami property includes movable or immovable property, and tangible or intangible property, among others. It empowers provisional attachment and confiscation of such properties.

It also allows for prosecution of the real owner, the benamidar, the abettor and the inducer to benami transactions, which may result in rigorous imprisonment of up to 7 years and fine of up to 25% of the property's fair market value .

The government is keen to implement the new Benami Act in an effective manner with visible outcomes on the ground.

These benami prohibition units are under the overall supervision of the principal directors of investigation in the I-T department to enable swift action and followup, particularly in cases where criminality has been detected, the department said.

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January 15,2020

Chandigarh, Jan 15: A man, who has killed two women over infidelity over the last 10 years was arrested from a news channel studio in Chandigarh when he confessed to these crimes during a live programme, police said.

In the television programme on News18, the 31-year-old accused, Maninder Singh, who is a cab driver, confessed killing his live-in partner, a 27-year-old nurse Sarabjit Kaur at a Chandigarh hotel on New Year's Eve.

Singh, a former murder convict and currently out on bail, also confessed about his crime committed in Karnal in 2010.

"I killed her (Sarabjit Kaur) because she was having an affair with her sister-in-law's brother," Maninder told the news channel.

Confessing his previous crime, Maninder said he had killed Renu in Karnal. "She was also having an affair with a man from Uttar Pradesh," he said.

Singh was arrested while the programme was still on air as police rushed into the studio.

Haryana Police had arrested him for killing the woman in 2010. He was convicted by a trial court, but he later got bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

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January 9,2020

Bareilly, Jan 9: In a bizarre development, a woman has been arrested for inflicting 101 cuts on her sister-in-law in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district, the police said on Thursday.

The woman was practicing exorcism to cure her father who had been ailing for some time.

The woman, Moni, was helped by her husband Mooli and brother Raju in the act, which happened on Tuesday.

The sister-in-law Renu who suffered the cuts, was given 300 stitches on her face and other parts of the body by the doctors.

Renu has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where her condition is said to be serious.

Moni, 30, has been sent to jail while Mooli and Raju are absconding.

Baradari police station officer inspector Naresh Tyagi said that a complaint had been filed by Renu's brother under section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC.

"We will record Renu's statements in a day or two once she is stable and in a condition to talk to us. We have sent Moni to jail," the inspector said.

Renu, a resident of Ganghora village in Bareilly, was married to Sanjeev around eight years ago.

Her father-in-law, Jagdish, fell ill a few months ago.

"Accused Moni, who practices exorcism, decided to cure her father by initiating the act. Going by superstitious beliefs, they inflicted as many as 101 cuts on Renu's face and body. It cannot be ruled out that they wanted to sacrifice her to complete the act," police inspector said.

On Tuesday night, the accused had locked Renu's husband and mother-in-law in another room when they tried to stop them from making her a scapegoat.

When the accused trio started inflicting cuts on Renu, she struggled to get out of their clutches and somehow managed to escape from the house.

She had run a short distance when she collapsed and became unconscious. A police constable on patrol reportedly spotted her and she was taken to a district hospital. Once regaining her consciousness, she narrated her ordeal to the police who then informed her parents.

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January 21,2020

Tengnoupal, Jan 21: A woman IPS officer has alleged that a rifleman of Assam Rifles physically assaulted and molested her at a check post near Moreh town in Manipur's Tengnoupal district, police said on Tuesday.

Based on a written complaint of the IPS officer, an FIR has been registered against rifleman P K Pandey and a summon has been issued to him to appear before the concerned police station, the police said.

Manipur DGP L M Khaute told reporters on Monday, "We have made contacts with the Assam Rifles authorities. A complaint has been lodged by the officer." In her complaint, the IPS officer said that on reaching Khudengtabi check post on Sunday afternoon one of her escorts, who was not in uniform, told the frisking party of Assam Rifles to register their entry.

Despite showing their identity cards, the rifleman allegedly detained them, she said.

"We offered to search ourselves and the vehicle, but he was not interested", she said.

The rifleman began hitting the official vehicle and "misbehaved, humiliated, harassed and assaulted me and my escort personnel," she alleged.

The IPS officer also alleged that the rifleman molested her and when her escorts tried to intervene, he thrashed them.

She further accused the rifleman of making "sexually coloured" remarks against her, using abusive language and even tried to snatch her phone when she tried to call her senior officers.

The issue was brought under control after the matter was reported to the Brigadier of 26th Assam Rifles and the Major of the D-company of 12th AR, police said.

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