|
Mumbai:
In a big catch, the Central Bureau of Investigation has nabbed an
Income Tax commissioner and a chartered accountant for demanding a
bribe of Rs.2.20 lakh from a complainant for settling a tax
scrutiny case, an official said here Saturday.
CBI western region head Rishi Raj Singh identified the two as
Income Tax Commissioner (Appeal) R.P. Meena, and chartered
accountant U.P. Pai.
Meena asked the complainant to pay a sum of Rs.2.20 lakh in return
for a closure report for the files pertaining to the period
2006-2007. The complainant was asked to pay the amount to Pai,
otherwise his file would never be cleared and he would be
compelled to shell out heavy penalties.
The complainant approached the CBI, and a CBI team Friday went to
Meena's office where he was holding discussions with the victim
and Pai over the modalities of paying the bribe.
Pai summoned the complainant to a restaurant near the bustling
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, where the money was handed over.
The CBI team, waiting at the venue in disguise, nabbed Pai
red-handed while accepting the bribe on behalf of Meena.
During the interrogation, Pai revealed that he was to hand over
the money to an agent of Meena. The agent was also arrested, and
revealed that he was collecting money from Meena on a regular
basis.
Soon thereafter, a CBI team rushed to Meena's residence and nabbed
him.
As the CBI team arrived, Meena attempted to throw away his mobile
phone, and later the sleuths recovered three more cell-phones
under fictitious names of different telecom circles.
"Meena used to talk to his contacts on this private mobile phone.
Scrutiny of call records of this mobile phone is being done, even
the other cellphones are suspected to be used for similar illegal
transactions," Singh said.
Presently, the CBI is carrying out searches at the houses and
offices of Meena and Pai.
Searches are also underway at three locations in New Delhi where
Meena has a house, a bank locker and a plot in Jaipur and a home
in Dausa (Rajasthan).
|
Comments
|
Quick links