Income Tax Department attaches Rs 254 crore benami equity shares of Kamal Nath's nephew Ratul Puri
The Income Tax Department on Tuesday attached benami equity shares worth Rs 254 crore belonging to Ratul Puri, the nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
Earlier on Monday, the Enforcement Directorate told a Delhi court that Ratul Puri received money generated from the VVIP Chopper deal scam. ED made the allegations during the hearing on anticipatory bail application filed by Puri before special judge Arvind Kumar, who extended his interim protection arrest by a day after the arguments on his application remained inconclusive.
Puri, Chairman of Hindustan Powerprojects Pvt Ltd, had on July 27 approached the court seeking anticipatory bail in the case, saying he feared arrest in the case.
Alleging political vendetta, senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Puri, said that two BJP lawmakers joined the ruling Congress party in Madhya Pradesh a few days ago and now the ED wants to arrest him since his uncle is the Chief Minster of the state.
The court had on Saturday granted the interim protection till Monday after the ED had sought time to argue the matter, with a direction to appear before before the ED.
