I-T searches at Shiv Sena leader's house

Mumbai: Income tax department officials have started search operations at the house of Shiv Sena leader, Yashwant Jadhav in Mumbai. The operations kickstarted on Saturday moring. Jadhav is the chairman of standing committee of Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC), whereas his wife, Yamini Jadhav is an MLA of the party from Byculla.

This action of central agency is second in the recent past. It was

quite recently when Enforcement Directorate sleuths had picked up Maharashtra State's minority welfare minister and a strongman of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Nawab Malik in a money laundering case probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster, Dawood Ibrahim from his residence in Kurla and put him in judicial custody until March 3.

An I-T probe into the election affidavit of Yamini Jadhav in August

had called it 'erroneous'. Referring to a loan mentioned, it says that "from the gathered facts, it can be inferred that Rs 1 crore does not partake the character of loan taken by her but it is (her) own money and accordingly, the particular about the liability on this account disclosed in the affidavit filed by her is erroneous."

It was learnt that I-T might have sent a report to the Election

Commission for Yamini's disqualification as MLA for providing false details in the election affidavit.

Yamini's husband Yashwant Jadhav is the chairman of the BMC's powerful Standing Committee that has final authority to approve all big financial proposals of the civic body. The BMC election is scheduled early next fiscal. Not to mention that the annual Budget of BMC is more than the annual Budgets of several states in the country and continues to be the bastion of Shiv Sena. In fact, BMC is a place where BJP has been preening its eyes for quite some time.

While talking to media in August, Yashwant had denied all the allegations. "We have given accurate declarations in the affidavit with facts at that point of time. All explanations provided to the authorities concerned. These are false allegations made to defame us," he had said.