Overview
- Newslaundry reported on a confidential Income Tax (Investigation) dossier that described at least Rs 112 crore siphoned from Uttar Pradesh schemes from 2019–20 to 2021–22, with Navneet Kumar Sehgal named as the largest alleged beneficiary.
- At a press conference, Congress’s Pawan Khera referenced the report and asked the government to clarify speculation that Sehgal was being considered for a post in the PMO, reportedly in place of Hiren Joshi.
- Party allegations say funds under ODOP, Vishwakarma Shram Samman and UPICON were routed through fake bills, shell firms and dubious sub-contracting, including investments linked to a company associated with Sehgal’s sons.
- The Hindu reported that the Income Tax Department accepted Sehgal’s explanations and closed the case, with no publicly known criminal prosecution or departmental action, and the Lokayukta later said it never received the 254-page dossier.
- Sehgal, who resigned as Prasar Bharati chairman on December 2 with a year left in his term, denied the claims as false and said the tax inquiry was concluded after his responses.