The CBI raided five locations in Ranchi in a graft related case against Principal Commissioner Tapas Kumar Dutta, three other officials of Income Tax Department alongwith six other private persons including a Chartered Accountant for criminal conspiracy, taking illegal gratification etc here on Wednesday. The CBI sleuths raided the guest house of the Income Tax Office located on the 8th floor here as soon it was opened on Wednesday.
The searches, according to the CBI, were conducted at 18 locations in Kolkata and five in Ranchi. Suspense, however, still prevails about the other four locations in Ranchi. Dutta, after being questioned continuously for over 12 hours at the IT office in Ranchi on Wednesday, was taken along with them by the CBI officials, said sources.
“The raids are related to an ongoing investigation of a case registered against Dutta, Additional CIT Arvind Kumar lal, ITO (Tech) Ranjit Kumar lal and one other officer of Income Tax posted in Ranchi, six other persons – Director of Achal Vyapar Private limited Bishwanath Agrawal and other Kolkata based businessmen Santosh Chaudhary, Akash Agrawal, Vinod Agrawal, Arvind Agrawal and Chartered Accountant Pawan Maurya following allegations of criminal conspiracy against them,” said a CBI official requesting anonymity.
They have been booked under section 120-B of IPC read with sections 7, 12, 13(2) read with 13 (1) (d) of PC Act, 1988 on the allegations of criminal conspiracy, illegal gratification and criminal misconduct etc by corrupt and illegal means and criminal misconduct etc by the public servant with the active involvement of private persons, he added.
In this criminal conspiracy Bishwanath Agrawal’s son in law PK Dhanuka and brother in law Subodh Kumar Dhanuka helped in hiding proceeds of crime. The CBI officials said that the IT officials were accused of favouring companies and private persons in tax related matters for taking illegal gratifications.
It was further revealed that Dutta helped a cartel of businessmen, infamous for running entry operation in West Bengal,