Saturday, April 30 2005 14:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: The Income Tax (IT) Department will probe the assets of all the key players in the multi-crore flood relief scam including its alleged kingpin Santosh Jha and former Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami, sources in the IT department said today (Apr 30, 2005).

The IT would also probe the assets of Jha's partner Sanjiv Kumar and Amitabh, an official reported to be close to Goswami, the sources said.

IT Chief Commissioner, Bihar, Ashutosh Singh Thakur, on his last day in office yesterday (Apr 29, 2005), asked Director Investigation, Bihar and Jharkhand, Ajay Singh, to probe the assets of all the key players of the scam, the sources added.

The probe would ascertain whether the persons allegedly involved in the defalcation of Rs 17 crore meant for providing relief to the flood-hit people of north Bihar, were filing regular returns besides their unaccounted assets including immovable properties, if any, to find out whether they were evading tax, the sources said.

Jha, who unsuccessfully contested the recent Bihar Assembly polls on Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) ticket and who has been suspended from the party after his name cropped up in the scam, is said to possess luxurious houses and a fleet of cars.

Goswami, who was honoured with Time Magazine award, has resigned from the IAS and joined a private company, but his resignation is yet to be accepted.