Unveiling the Bribery Scandal: CBI Nabs High-Ranking Tax Official and Shapoorji Pallonji Executive
IRS Official, Income Tax Commissioner, among 4 others, apprehended in a bribery scheme worth approximately 70 million Indian rupees.
In a shocking development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken into custody a senior Income Tax Commissioner and a top executive from the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, following allegations of accepting a bribe worth INR 70 lakh.
Jeevan Lal Lavidiya, Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Hyderabad, finds himself at the center of this corruption storm. Along with Lavidiya, the CBI apprehended four other accomplices: Viral Kantilal Mehta, Deputy General Manager (Taxation) of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Sairam Palisetty, Natta Veera Naga Sri Ram Gopal, and Sajida Majhar Hussain Shah.
There has been no immediate response from Shapoorji Pallonji Group regarding the arrests.
The investigating agency claimed that Lavidiya, holding additional charge as Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals Unit-8 and Unit-7) under the Office of the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Hyderabad, was engaging in corrupt practices involving acceptance of illicit bribes to influence his decisions on pending tax appeals.
When trapped in a sting operation, an accused middleman was caught accepting the INR 70 lakh bribe on Lavidiya's behalf in Mumbai. The CBI claims that the arrested individuals were subsequently captured from Hyderabad.
A series of searches across cities including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Khammam, Visakhapatnam, and New Delhi led to the recovery of approximately INR 69 lakh in cash, aside from the bribe money.
The CBI asserts that Lavidiya, in connivance with intermediaries, was demanding bribes for offering illegal favors to settle tax appeals in favor of specific private parties. An FIR was lodged against Lavidiya and 14 others and entities, accusing them of accepting bribes in various forms, including cash and properties, to conceal illicit assets.
Viral Kantilal Mehta of Shapoorji Pallonji Group is one of the key accused in this scandal, indicative of the involvement of the group's official in the bribery transactions. The FIR further alleges that one of the companies associated with the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, namely Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Gujarat, played a part in dealings requiring corrupt intervention from the Income Tax department.
As the CBI’s investigation continues, the arrested individuals are being produced before special courts in Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The authorities are focusing on examining further documents and financial trails associated with the scandal.
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- The bribery scandal involving a senior tax official and a Shapoorji Pallonji executive has raised questions about policy-and-legislation in the realm of taxation, given the allegations of accepting bribes to influence tax appeals.
- This high-profile bribery case, involving executives from Shapoorji Pallonji and a senior tax official, has spilled over into the crime-and-justice section of general news, as the Central Bureau of Investigation continues its investigation and the courts hear the cases.
