Laloo’s brother-in-law threatens taxman now

Patna: RJD MLC Subhash Yadav, brotherof chief minister Rabri Devi and brother-in-law of RJD supremo Laloo Yadav, isagain in the thick of a controversy for allegedly threatening and terrorising anofficer of the state commercial taxes department.The controversy followshard on the heels of the row over alleged forcible lifting of costly cars andother vehicles from different showrooms of the dealers here on the pretext ofusing them for ferrying VIPs attending the marriage of the second daughter ofLaloo and Rabri Devi on May 24.Subhash is said to have abused andthreatened on telephone assistant commercial taxes commissioner of BiharsharifShiv Sahay Singh for not issuing the “no-objection and no-tax duescertificate to a defaulting manufacturing and distributing company of spiced andcountry liquor.�Subhash was earlier in the news for allegedlyabusing and threatening the then city SP of Patna, Jagmohan, in full public viewat Boring Road here about six months ago for sealing a foreign liquor shop, andfor other acts of “muscle flexing�.Being “terrorised anddisgusted� by the incident, Singh, who has written a letter (no. 185 datedMay 28, 2002) to state commercial taxes commissioner- cum- secretary SudhirKumar informing him about the incident, has gone on leave. He has not beenattending his office for the last four days.When contacted, Kumar admittedthat he has received a letter in this regard from Singh. “We areexamining the matter,� he said, adding that the assistant commissioner ofcommercial taxes “is on leave because of the illness of hiswife�.Singh has stated in the letter that Subhash, while threateninghim on telephone, put pressure on him to issue a no-objection and no-tax duescertificate to the K D Liquor and Fertiliser Private Ltd which is engaged inmanufacturing and distributing country and spiced liquor, said departmentsources. The sources said even the commercial taxes commissioner hasinformed the state excise department about “evasion of a huge amount ofsales tax� by the company in the sale of spiced and country liquor.The Patna High Court has also dismissed the plea of the company that itshould be allowed to pay commercial taxes on liquor at the discount price andnot at the price fixed by the state government.Despite repeated efforts,Subhash could not be contacted for his comments. A senior official of thecommercial taxes department said the excise department appears to be indifferentto the issue of huge evasion of commercial taxes by the company. Thecompany has so much influence over the powers that be that its licence is beingrenewed again and again on an ad hoc basis despite a serious objection raised bythe member of the Board of Revenue, who has found that the proprietors of thedefaulting company floated a new company for getting a fresh licence formanufacturing and distributing spiced and country liquor in the state, theofficial added.