CBI files chargesheet against IT department officer arrested in bribery case | mumbai news

The CBI’s anti-corruption branch had initiated its probe against the officer, Income Tax Officer (ITO) V Bansal, after the complainant had approached the CBI and alleged that the accused had asked for an undue advantage of ₹5.04 lakh, which was brought down to ₹4 lakh, for issuing a lower TDS certificate in connection with the proposed sale of a property in Byculla belonging to his maternal uncle, a Non-Resident Indian (NRI). The complainant’s mother then held the Power of Attorney (POA) for the said property.

The complainant’s family applied for a lower TDS certificate online on the IT Department portal in April through their Chartered Accountant (CA). They received an online request regarding certain clarifications from an Assessing Officer (AO) and they provided the required details. However, as no response was received from the AO, the complainant, along with a representative of the CA, had allegedly met the accused official, who was the AO dealing with the issue.

On being asked about the status of the certificate, the accused had initially allegedly demanded an undue advantage of 2% of the total deal value of the property, which was then worth ₹5.04 crore, and after negotiation, reduced it to 1% ( ₹5.04 lakh). Later, the accused had allegedly agreed to accept a bribe of ₹4 lakh from the complainant. As the complainant did not want to pay the bribe, he complained to the CBI on April 30 for taking necessary legal action.

Acting on the complaint, the CBI on May 2, registered a case under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, pertaining to demand of undue advantage by a public servant, against the accused. The CBI had the arrested accused officer on May 2, after he was allegedly nabbed while accepting the ₹4 lakh bribe at his office in Mumbai from the complainant. The CBI had in May conducted searches at the office and residential premises of the accused in Mumbai, which allegedly led to the recovery of ₹15 lakh cash, gold ornaments and papers related to investments in Immovable and movable properties, which were put under scrutiny.