CBI arrests sacked I-T Commissioner S K Srivastava in corruption case

The CBI on Tuesday arrested sacked Income Tax Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Srivastava in a corruption case for allegedly passing backdated appeal orders to obtain undue benefits, officials said.

The agency had booked him in July on the allegations thatSrivastava as Commissioner, Income Tax (Appeals), Noida passed 104 backdated orders in June, 2019 -- the month he was given forced retirement by the government, the officials said.

The agency had levelled charges under the Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery besides provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act for obtaining undue favours.

The orders were backdated to December 2018, the CBI alleged.

Among these, 13 orders were not of his jurisdiction, the agency has alleged.

The CBI had said records showed the orders were dispatched on June 7, 2019 -- three days before the government removed Srivastava from service, but they were sent on June 14, 2019.

The government had given compulsory retirement to Srivastava on June 10, 2019, but these orders were uploaded on the Income Tax Business Application (ITBA) between June 11 and June 13 by alleged misuse of RSA token, a kind of access system in the department, the agency has alleged.

After filing of case against him, the CBI had carried out searches at his residence and office.

Ithad recovered from Srivastava's residence jewellery worth Rs 2.47 crore, Rs 16.44 lakh in cash, watches approximately valued at Rs 10 lakh, over Rs 1.30 crore of bank deposits in the name of the former officer as well as his family members, incriminating documents related to two immovable assets and a bank locker, the CBI Spokesperson had said after filing of the case.