EXCLUSIVE: CM Thackeray’s advisor Ajoy Mehta's Nariman Point flat under IT scanner

Former bureaucrat and advisor to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Ajoy Mehta is under the IT scanner for a benami transaction on a Nariman Point flat. Ajoy Mehta in February was appointed as MahaRera Chairman.   The Income Tax department’s benami section cracked a case where a multi-crore deal was carried out for a Nariman Point-based property between a shell company and the retired top bureaucrat of Maharashtra.   Former Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta purchased a flat in Nariman Point from a company named Anamitra Properties Pvt Ltd. The company has two shareholders who reside in a chawl in Mumbai.   The company, as per sources, was created for only the purpose of acquiring this property, as suspected by the agency. The balance sheet of the company has several discrepancies and the shareholders are non-filers of Income Tax returns.   The 1076-square-feet flat was bought by Mehta last year for Rs 5.33 crore from the alleged benami or shell company. The said property was acquired by Anamitra Properties Pvt Ltd in 2009 for Rs 4 crore.   Shareholder Kamesh Nathuni Singh virtually owns 99 per cent shares in the company and is a non-filer of I-T returns. He lives in Shymnarayan Yadav Chawl on Western Express Highway. The other shareholder, Dipesh Ravindra Singh, has filed only one return for 2020-21 showing an income of Rs 1,71,002. Their records clearly show that they are people of low income who would not be able to purchase the property worth crores.