CBI Court Imprisons Income Tax Officials for Bribery
A CBI court sentenced two Income Tax officials to four years in prison for accepting a bribe. The case stemmed from a 2015 scandal involving an inflated tax liability and a jeweller acting as a middleman. Despite acquitting the jeweller, the court fined both officials, highlighting serious corruption.
- Country:
- India
A special CBI court has sentenced two officials from the Income Tax department to four years in prison, following their conviction for accepting a bribe amounting to Rs 15 lakh. While these officials must also pay fines of Rs 1.10 lakh each, the court acquitted the jeweller accused of being a middleman.
Presiding Officer Bhupendra Sanadhya, overseeing the Special court for CBI cases, highlighted that these actions severely undermined public faith in government institutions. The case initiated in March 2015, revolved around the arrest of the then-chief Income Tax commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma and inspector Shailendra Bhandari, following a bribery complaint by businessman Kishore Jain.
Jain accused the officials of unjustly inflating his tax liability from Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 12 crore and coercing him into paying a reduced bribe to resolve the matter. Despite securing a favorable appeal ruling, Jain faced continued pressure, prompting a CBI sting operation that led to multiple arrests and subsequent property raids.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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