I-T officer booked for bribery

CA, Aide Caught With ₹8 Lakh Bribe

The anti-corruption bureau (ACB), Gujarat on 15/12/18 night held a chartered accountant who was receiving a bribe of Rs 8 lakh on the instructions of her husband and on behalf of an assistant commissioner of income tax, Ahmedabad.

The bribe was sought to avoid assessment of the complainant’s account, ACB officials said on Sunday.

The CA, who was caught on Saturday, has been identified as Namita Singhania, a resident of Prahladnagar. Namita was receiving the money on instruction of her husband Sumit Singhania whereas the I-T official who sought the bribe , OP Meena, is still on the run.

Meena’s peon Sunil Patni has also been accused of mediating as he was instrumental in bringing the bribe amount down to Rs 8 lakh from Rs 20 lakh.

“This is an interesting tale on how corruption is deeply rooted in our system. The complainant last week went to I-T official to clarify about an assessment notice served upon him. At that time, Meena told him either to pay Rs 20 lakh or face the action,” said an ACB official.

“Stunned with the huge amount asked by the I-T official, the complainant left his office and sat outside for a while. At that time, Meena’s peon – Sunil Patni asked him on what he wanted and when the complainant narrated his story, Patni assured him that he would reduce his amount from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 8 lakh if he is given Rs 50,000 for mediation,” added the ACB official.

The complainant then paid Rs 50,000 to Patni after which he called up ACB official and informed them about his grievance. ACB officials set a trap to nab the accused persons.

“Meena had asked the complainant to pay the amount at a CA named Sumit Singhania at his house. But when the complainant approached Sumit, he asked him to pay the money to his wife Namrata. The complainant reached at Sumit and Namita Singhania’s house at Dev Aurum Complex in Prahladnagar where in Namita took Sumit and Meena on conference line and took bribe of Rs 8 lakh from the complainant. At that time, ACB officials nab her while accepting the money,” said an ACB official.

ACB official said that they have collected all the evidences comprising conversations in which bribe was negotiated. The ACB officials are also seeking details about recovery amount charged on the complainant and if the same I-T assistant commissioner was involved in other cases of corruption.