Two I-T Officials in CBI Net for Graft

Two I-T officials in CBI net for graft Dec 10, 2008 CBI laid two traps to nab the officials after being alerted by credit co-op societies that had been `threatened’ with punitive action.Two senior officials of the Income Tax department were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday after being caught accepting a bribe of Rs 80,000 each from officials of credit cooperative societies.

Deputy Income Tax Commissioner Roopak Bahadur and Income Tax Officer (ITO) D S Kapoor were scrutinising the income tax assessment of Nirali Co-operative Credit Society and Bejod Co-operative Credit Society located at Mahalaxmi. Bahadur was scrutinising fresh I-T assessment of the two societies while Kapoor was scrutinising the fresh assessment and appeal on an earlier I-T order of the two bodies.

According to CBI sources, the two had threatened to take punitive action against the two societies if they did not pay the bribe. The two officials made a demand of Rs one lakh each but eventually agreed to settle for Rs 80,000.

Officials of the two societies approached the CBI on Monday evening and lodged a complaint. Sources say the CBI subsequently laid a trap at the Income Tax Commissioner’ s office at Piramal Chambers in Mahalaxmi, where both officers have chambers. “Both were independently caught accepting bribe inside their respective offices,” a CBI official said. Bahadur and Kapoor have been arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act and will be produced in court on Wednesday. Till late Tuesday night, the CBI carried out searches at the residences of the two officials. Details of the search are awaited.