I-T dept attaches Rs 225 cr worth assets of retired UP IAS officer
New Delhi, Mar 20: The Income Tax department has attached assets worth Rs 225 crore of retired Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Net Ram and his associates as part of an alleged tax evasion probe against them, officials said Wednesday.
They said a provisional order under section 132(9B) (power to attach) of the I-T Act has been issued and 20 immovable assets in Delhi, Mumbai, Noida and Kolkata have been attached and three luxury cars found at the residence of the officer in Lucknow have been impounded.
Cash worth over Rs 1.64 crore, Montblanc pens valued at Rs 50 lakh, four luxury SUVs and documents indicating 'benami' assets of Rs 300 crore were recovered during income tax raids on the premises linked to the retired IAS officer, who served in top positions during Mayawati's chief ministership, last week.
IT department officials had swooped down on a dozen premises linked to the 1979-batch Indian Administrative Service officer on March 12 after it obtained "credible inputs" that the former top bureaucrat and his associates have made "accommodation or bogus entries of about Rs 95 crore from Kolkata-based shell firms" in the past.
Net Ram was secretary to Mayawati when she was Uttar Pradesh chief minister during 2002-03, her third stint in power in the state.
The officer had served in various capacities in UP, including heading the excise, sugar industries and cane department, stamp and registration, food and civil supplies department.
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Mamata asks TMC nominees not to leave counting centres as EC data shows BJP leading
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.
In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.
"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.
As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.
"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".
"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.
The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.
"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.
Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.
"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.
She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".
"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".
Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.
"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.
Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.
Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.
Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.
জরুরি বার্তা pic.twitter.com/Uc82oihwEL
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 4, 2026
