New Delhi, October 1
The CBI today arrested Mumbai Income Tax Commissioner B. R. Meena for possessing
assets disproportionate to his income, a day after it carried out nationwide raids against public servants.
CBI spokesperson said the premises of Meena, a 1977 batch IRS official, were raided yesterday by the Economic Offences Wing of the CBI during which the agency sleuths claimed to have made a cash recovery of Rs 21 lakh.
They found that the official had built a palatial house in Jaipur worth Rs 1 crore, adding that his five bank lockers in Jaipur were yet to be operated
The Magistrate has remanded him in CBI custody till October 9 for further investigation into the seizure made from him.
Among other things found was jewellery worth Rs 28 lakh, household items worth Rs 22 lakh and bank accounts of Rs 17 lakh. Along with this, a house worth Rs 15 lakh in Jhunjhunu has also been found in his name.
“Also, the 18 plots of land found in his name were today evaluated at over Rs 1 crore,” he said.
In another case, CBI sleuths claimed to have recovered Rs 80 lakh in cash from Chartered Accountant Chandan Parmar, who is alleged to be a conduit for the Income Tax Commissioner (Appeals) of Bahrampur, Mr Ashok Kumar Gautam.
“This includes Rs 14.86 as bank balance and fixed deposits of Rs 9.33 lakh,” the spokesman said.
Kumar’s other investments are worth Rs 11.81 lakh along with GPF and PPF investments of Rs 16.10 lakh, he said. Also, more searches at the premises of his “tout” Chandan Parmar have yielded an additional amount of Rs 30 lakh, besides Rs 50 lakh seized yesterday, taking the total to Rs 80 lakh.
Meanwhile, the three persons, including a senior official of Union Human Resources Development Ministry, who were arrested late last night following raids, were produced before the Magistrate.
In the first case, Hamidullah Bhatt, working as Director for the National Council for Promotion of Urdu under the HRD Ministry, was remanded in 14 days of judicial custody after the agency claimed to have recovered Rs 2 crore worth of property and cash from him.
The spokesman also informed that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Assistant Sanitary Inspector Naresh Chand had been sent
in four-day police custody. “He will be produced before the court on October 5,” he said.
Naresh Shanker, who worked as Assistant Sanitary Inspector in the
Municipal Corporation of Delhi, was remanded in four days of CBI custody.
