Prayagraj: In a latest revelation, it has come to light that late mafia don Atiq Ahmed had paid income tax for the first time in 2014.
It was the time when the BJP-government had come to power in the Centre and intensified action against tax evaders. Atiq had paid an income tax amounting to Rs 10 lakh, which was for the first time that he had ever paid any tax.
The information surfaced after Prayagraj Police asked the Income Tax Department for tax details of Atiq. It was revealed that Atiq had not paid a single penny tax prior to 2014. After the formation of the BJP government in the Centre in 2014, when the crackdown on income tax evaders started that Atiq deposited tax for the first time.
Atiq was elected five times as MLA from Prayagraj's City West seat and MP from Phulpur Lok Sabha seat. According to sources, it was due to the power he wielded at that time that even the IT Department never turned its attention towards him. Atiq and his brother Ashraf had made mark in real estate and other businesses. Atiq owned luxury foreign four-wheelers and movable and immovable properties worth crores of rupees. Yet he managed to evade income tax till 2014.
The Prayagraj Police are conducting investigations in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in MLA Raju Pal murder case. Raju Pal had been shot in broad daylight in February 2023. In order to gather information about the properties linked to Atiq, officers of the Cantt police station in Prayagraj asked the IT Department about the tax details of Atiq between 1990 to 2023. When the IT Department submitted the details, the investigators were shocked.
"Records revealed that Atiq did not pay any tax before 2014 and the last tax paid by him was in 2018. Barring the period between 2014 to 2018, Atiq did not pay any tax in his lifetime. In 2014, Atiq paid an income tax of Rs 10 lakh and in 2018, he paid an amount of Rs 16 lakh. After 2018, there is no record of tax being deposited in Atiq's name," a senior police officer said.
It is likely that the IT Department may investigate into the matter and register a case of tax evasion against his family members. Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead while they were being taken to a hospital in Prayagraj by police on April 15, 2023.
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