'BSP deposit' heap- Rs 102 crore

TT, New Delhi, Dec. 26: Deposits of nearly Rs 105 crore made in old notes have been found in a Delhi bank account of the BSP, Enforcement Directorate sources claimed tonight.

From United Bank of India's same branch in Karol Bagh in the capital, financial sleuths have found Rs 1.42 crore in an account belonging to Anand Kumar, the brother of BSP leader Mayawati, the sources added.

Repeated attempts to elicit a response from BSP spokespersons did not succeed in the late hour. On earlier occasions when questions of assets had come up, the BSP had said countless supporters had made donations to the party.

ED sources said as much as Rs 102 crore in the BSP account had been deposited in demonetised 1,000-rupee notes while the old 500-rupee notes accounted for nearly Rs 3 crore. "We came across bank records suggesting Rs 15-17 crore was deposited every day over the past one week," a source said.

In the account of Anand, Rs 18.98 lakh was deposited in the scrapped currency notes, the sources said.

The sources said officers of the income-tax department and the Enforcement Directorate were involved in the search, triggered by an alert from the Intelligence Bureau.

The joint probe team has asked the bank for CCTV footage recorded since the demonetisation was announced and the know-your-customer (KYC) documents furnished for opening the accounts.

The income-tax department is likely to issue notices soon to the BSP and Anand to explain the source of the cash and whether tax was paid.

Sources in the income-tax department said the agency would look into the legality of the donations and contributions if the party put the amount under the two heads.

The income-tax department is carrying out enquiries at over 100 bank branches in the capital to check whether big deposits have been made in the recalled notes since demonetisation was announced on November 8.