Senior PDP leader and Jammu and Kashmir MLA Waheed Para has been served a notice by the Income Tax department requesting his financial records. The notice instructed Para to appear before Income Tax authorities on December 20, but he received the notification only that day. Para represents Pulwama constituency in south Kashmir.
His representative is likely to visit the Income Tax office on Monday. The notice falls under Section 131 (1A) of the Income Tax Act, which empowers tax officers to seek information from taxpayers even if no formal investigation is in progress.
This section allows authorities to request financial documents and books of accounts, either in person or through an authorised representative. Election data filed with the Election Commission revealed that Para spent over Rs 14 lakh on his campaign.
Of this amount, Rs 12 lakh came from individuals, companies, firms, or associations as loans, gifts, and donations.
In his election affidavit, Para declared assets exceeding Rs 2.5 crore, including inherited agricultural land valued at Rs 2 crore. Para was granted bail after serving two years in jail. He was initially arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on November 25, 2020, a day after submitting his nomination for the District Development Council elections in Pulwama.
Despite receiving bail from an NIA court in January 2021, he was rearrested by the Counter Intelligence (Kashmir) unit of Jammu and Kashmir Police on similar charges as he exited jail. He is considered an important leader who commands influence on the PDP supporters especially youth in south Kashmir.
He had contested the Lok Sabha elections against NC’s Agh Ruhullah unsuccessfully from Srinagar. In the inaugural session of the assembly in November, he tried to move a resolution against the abrogation of Article 370, however, this was disallowed by Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather.
