Top taxman, three others held over bribery

With the arrest of four persons, including a joint commissioner of the Income Tax department, the CBI on Sunday claimed to have busted a major “bribery racket” involving chartered accountants and businessmen.

The arrested public servant, source said, was identified as Sallong Yaden, joint commissioner (Income Tax), Range-VI, Chennai.

“The accused official was arrested while allegedly accepting bribe from a chartered accountant to give a favourable report on the Income Tax search conducted on a private company based in Chennai,” sources said.

“The operation started on Saturday across Mumbai and Chennai. The agency sleuths also arrested chartered accountants, including Sanjay Bhandari and managing director of a Chennai-based real estate firm,” sources said.

Several other private firms were also under scanner of the agency, sources added. It is alleged that the businessmen were seeking undue favours from I-T officials with their chartered accountants acting as middlemen, sources said.

In 16 places searched so far, the agency had seized cash and ornaments worth Rs 1 crore, 16 laptops, 13 CPUs, nine mobile phones, three iPads, property papers and other documents, they said. Sources further said several other senior I-T officials officers posted in Mumbai and Chennai were also under scanner of the agency.

The CBI has recently filed a chargesheet in the court of special judge for CBI cases, Bhopal against the then deputy-commissioner of Income Tax and four private persons, including her husband in a bribery case of Rs 10 lakhs.

“A case had been registered on the basis of a complaint against the then deputy commissioner on the allegation that the accused person had demanded an amount of Rs 25 lakhs through her husband (a private person) from the complainant (resident of Bhopal) for settling his assessment matter. Finally, the accused I-T official was arrested while demanding and accepting a bribe of '10 lakhs from the complainant,” sources said.