Jharkhand I-T officer sent in CBI custody in graft case

Ranchi/New Delhi, July 13 (IANS): Jharkhand’s Principal Commissioner of Income Tax Tapas Kumar Dutta, arrested by the CBI on corruption and other charges, has been sent in four-day CBI custody, an official said on Thursday.

The agency also seized another 1.6 kg gold from one of his bank lockers and Rs 20 lakh in cash from his residence at Ranchi in Jharkhand. The agency had seized Rs 3.5 crore in cash and five kg gold on Wednesday.

Dutta was arrested in Ranchi on Wednesday night after day-long questioning at the I-T office, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Spokesperson R.K. Gaur told IANS.

The CBI had on Wednesday conducted raids at 23 locations, including 18 residential and office premises of Dutta and other accused in Kolkata, and five places in Ranchi in Jharkhand.

The CBI had filed an FIR against Dutta, posted in Ranchi, and three colleagues — Additional Commissioner of Income Tax Arvind Kumar, Income Tax Officer Ranjeet Kumar Lal and Income Tax Officer (Tech) identified only as Ganguly — following allegations of criminal conspiracy, criminal conduct, and corruption.

Apart from the four Income Tax Department officials, five businessmen and a Chartered Accountant were also booked in the case.

Dutta and his colleagues were accused of favouring the five Kolkata-based businessmen — Biswanath Agarwal, Santosh Chowdhury, Aakash Agarwal, Vinod Agarwal, and Arvind Agarwal — and their companies by taking illegal gratification.

“During 2016 and 2017, Dutta entered into a criminal conspiracy with other Income Tax officials, the (five) businessmen, others and the Chartered Accountant for getting Income Tax assessment files of different assessee companies transferred from Kolkata and Hazaribagh to Ranchi for providing undue favour to those who had been charged with heavy tax liability in lieu of huge bribes,” the official said.

The official said Dutta issued favourable orders in the case of private companies, which had paid a huge bribe.