I-T dept team grills Mukhtar in prison

Lucknow: A team of six IT officials grilled Mukhtar Ansari in connection with benami properties worth Rs 125 crore that were found to be connected to him.Sources in the IT department said as many as 23 more benami properties belonging to the mafia-don Mukhtar Ansari have been traced by sleuths on which Ansari was also questioned. IT had recently attached property of Ansari worth Rs 12 crore which was in the name of one Ganesh Mishra.Sources added that Ansari was grilled for six hours and he remained non-cooperative during the questioning.Under Project Panther launched by the Income Tax department to unearth benami properties of Mukhtar Ansari, officials grilled Mukhtar’s associate Ganesh Dutt Mishra on June 20 and found that there are more benami properties in the name of Ansari in Punjab and other states, outside UP.I-T department sources said that as many as 50 benami properties belonging to Ansari and in the name of Ganesh Dutt Mishra, worth over Rs 250 crore, have been identified which will be attached soon. Sources said that Ganesh Dutt Mishra initially denied having any acquaintanceship with Ansari and his family but was confronted with evidence and transactions made by him through the shell companies.Sources privy to the probe added that he spilled the beans and told the agency about a list of benami properties of Ansari not only in UP but also in Punjab and Delhi.