CBI Charges Five Income Tax Officials for Extortion of Tax Refunds
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Synopsis
On March 28, five officials from the Income Tax Department in Hyderabad were arrested by the CBI for extorting money from taxpayers. They threatened individuals seeking high tax refunds with penalties, leading to an investigation revealing significant fraudulent activities.
Key Takeaways
- Five Income Tax officials arrested for extortion.
- Fraudulent activities involved nearly Rs 10 lakh.
- Accused used threats of penalties to extract bribes.
- CBI conducted searches uncovering jewelry and incriminating documents.
- Severe penalties imposed on victims for non-compliance.
New Delhi, March 28 (NationPress) Five officials from the Income Tax Department in Hyderabad, along with an accomplice, have been apprehended by the CBI for extorting funds from taxpayers who applied for unusually high tax refunds by threatening them with severe penalties, as reported by an official on Friday.
The fraudulent activity, amounting to nearly Rs 10 lakh, came to light when a taxpayer approached the CBI, prompting the filing of an FIR against the implicated tax officials: Quamar Aulam Khan, Manish Sikrawal, Gulnaz Rawoof, Kuthadi Srinivas Rao, and Mohd. Javeed.
Additionally, Bhagath Puliramidi (a private individual) and unnamed public and private individuals were also mentioned in the FIR for their involvement in the cheating.
According to the FIR filed on Thursday, the information obtained indicated recognizable offenses under sections of u/s 420 IPC; 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Income Tax Officers.
The modus operandi used by the accused for their deceit in 2023 included sending emails from official accounts to taxpayers, instructing them to provide documentation supporting their refund claims.
The FIR noted that one of the tax officials would call the refund applicants, urging them to respond to the email requesting documentation.
“The Income Tax Officers Quamar Aulam Khan, Manish Sikrawal, Gulnaz Rawoof, Kuthadi Srinivas Rao, and Mohd. Javeed contacted the taxpayers directly via mobile phone, instructing them to reply to the email concerning refund matters,” stated the FIR.
“They intimidated the taxpayers with substantial penalties if they did not act promptly. Under the pretense of imposing a penalty on the claimed refunds, the IT officers solicited bribes,” the FIR continued.
The CBI FIR highlighted that the Income Tax officers utilized the term 'penalty' to mislead the taxpayers into believing they were merely paying a fine, rather than a bribe.
Once a taxpayer consented to pay the penalty, the IT officers directed them to their aide, P. Bhagath, who collected the bribe under the guise of correcting the tax returns, as per the FIR.
In a separate case, the CBI initiated two investigations on March 25 against a former Branch Manager of State Bank of India, Ramakrishnanagar Branch, Karimganj, Assam (involved in both cases), and two private individuals (one in each case) on accusations of bank fraud and corruption/bribery.
The accusations state that the former Branch Manager, in collusion with intermediaries, disbursed Xpress Credit Loans to several ineligible borrowers during 2023-24 in exchange for improper benefits/bribes, which were allegedly collected by the two accused intermediaries and others from the borrowers.
Search operations were carried out by the CBI at multiple locations related to the accused, including Gaya (Bihar), Hailakandi (Assam), and two sites in Silchar (Assam), resulting in the recovery of significant amounts of jewelry (Gold - 481 gm, Diamond - 11.11 gm, and Silver - 1,092.80 gm) from the residence of the accused Branch Manager in Silchar, Assam.
Numerous incriminating documents, including transaction records with intermediaries, purchase invoices for jewelry, documents related to the Xpress Credit, and various electronic devices such as a computer drive, mobile phone, and tablet were also seized during the searches, according to a statement from the CBI.
