The CBI has launched investigations against two Income Tax (I-T) officers in two separate cases of alleged graft. In the first case, an I-T officer from New Delhi allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from an Andheri resident to close a demand notice of Rs 1 crore.
In the second case, another I-T officer from Jalgaon allegedly demanded a bribe from a doctor for cancellation of a new PAN card. The complainant, who runs a hospital, had lost her PAN Card and had applied for a new one in 2018, which led to difficulties in paying income tax. As a result, she filed an online application for cancellation of the newly allotted card on the I-T portal.
About The First Case
In the first case, the CBI, on March 4, received a complaint from the Andheri resident, whose father (a heavy taxpayer) had received a notice on January 21 for 2019-20 and 2020-21. The man received a WhatsApp call from someone who introduced himself as Sanjay Kumar from the New Delhi I-T office, stating that a demand notice of Rs 1 crore would be issued. He then asked the officer to speak to her daughter. Kumar demanded Rs 5 lakh from the complainant and said his seniors want the case closed by February 28, citing the deadline as March-end.
Kumar stayed in touch with the two February 5-24 through WhatsApp, during which he was asked to reduce the amount. He sought time to deliberate with his seniors and negotiated it down to Rs 2 lakh. The amount was sought either through a hawala channel or personally in his Delhi office.
About The Second Case
In the second case, a written complaint dated March 11 was received from a doctor. The doctor and her staffer met Rakesh Ranjan, an I-T officer in Jalgaon, and submitted the required documents as per instructions. However, the newly issued PAN Card was not cancelled despite regular follow-up. On March 10, Ranjan demanded Rs 10,000 and negotiated it to Rs 5,000 asking for delivery to an office peon.
