Andhra Pradesh I-T officer caught red-handed accepting bribe

A team of Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) officers has caught an Income Tax officer accepting a bribe worth Rs 2 lakh.

The accused, A.S Chandra Sekhar Reddy, was nabbed from his office here on April 29 along with the aforesaid amount and relevant incriminating documents, read a press note issued by the CBI on Wednesday.

As per the statement, the CBI's Visakhapatnam branch had received a complaint on April 29 stating that Reddy, an Income Tax officer, had demanded Rs 7.5 lakh as bribe for disposing favourably an appeal referred before the Commissioner of Income Tax.

Reddy had directed the complainant to pay a sum of Rs 2 lakh on April 29 and the balance in two installments before May 3, failing to do which the officer said he would close the appeal.

The complainant then approached the CBI for help, who, in turn, laid a trap for the accused officer after filing a case against him.

During the course of proceedings, the CBI, in its press note, said Reddy forcibly got hold of a scissor being used in the trap and started inflicting wounds on his stomach "in the presence of independent witnesses." It also mentioned that one of its officers also sustained injuries, adding that both the officer and Reddy were immediately provided medical treatment.

The CBI also mentioned that as the Andhra Pradesh government "did not agree to give consent under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946," for investigating the matter, the case records, seized trap amount, and the accused were handed over to the state government's anti-corruption bureau for further investigation.