Who is AAP MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar? All you need to know

The MLA's house was recently raided by the I-T Department, which claims to have found records of unaccounted wealth worth Rs 138 crore

The Income Tax (I-T) Department is said to have unearthed unaccounted money worth Rs 138 crore in raids conducted at the premises of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar. 

The department carried out a search-and-seizure operation at the MLA’s house and his aides in July and claims to have recovered papers showing these transactions.  

Tanwar joins a long list of AAP MLAs who have been at the receiving end of run-ins with law enforcement agencies, even as the party and its leaders have blamed the central government for the ‘witch hunt’.

Here’s all you need to know about Kartar Singh Tanwar, the latest AAP MLA in the crosshairs of enforcement agencies.

Who is Kartar Singh Tanwar?
 

Tanwar is a resident of Fathepur Beri in Chhatarpur, where he won elections contesting on an AAP ticket. He is a first time-MLA. Before joining AAP in 2014, he was a leader with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His political career, however, started way back in 2007, when he became the corporator for the Bhati ward, reports news portal Firstpost.  Before taking the plunge into politics, Tanwar was a junior engineer with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

Tanwar’s construction company, its cross-holdings, and transactions worth Rs 7 crore are under the I-T department’s scanner, according to a report in The Times of India. 

Why is he in the news?

Tax raids at his residence in Chhatarpur have unearthed documents which reportedly show unaccounted-for assets worth Rs 138 crore. The house of Tanwar’s brother and domestic maid were also searched and documents were recovered from there as well. 

Record under scanner

As a part of the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission, Tanwar had declared overall assets worth Rs 17.64 crore. It included immovable assets were Rs 7.69 crore and movable assets were worth Rs 9.95 crore. He owns several cars worth about Rs 72 lakh. 

Officials allege many illegal transactions were carried out by Tanwar. He is said to have bought land and farmhouses in Chhatarpur and adjoining areas. “All these were done through cash transactions and more than 30 companies were floated for the purpose,” an I-T official has been quoted in the Firstpost report. 

Modus operandi

A majority of the transactions were carried out by cash. Tanwar would take token amounts through cheques, while the bulk of the payment would be done by cash. It has been alleged that no tax was paid on this amount as there was no record of it. 

The companies set up to deal with transactions are accused of having fudged account books. Amounts transferred from such dealings have been shown as unsecured loans and advances. 

Tanwar has also been accused of not paying stamp duty and registration fee while dealing with these transactions. 

He is said to have used Power of Attorney to buy and sell land and farmhouses. In Delhi if the transactions are done using Power of Attorney, then one is not required to pay stamp duty. 

The Centre, meanwhile, denied AAP’s allegations of a witch-hunt and stated that lawmakers indulging in illegal acts will be brought to book.