CBI drops cases against five IRS officers in smuggling racket

CBI has moved to court seeking quashing of charges against five Indian Revenue Service officers who were allegedly involved in a high-profile smuggling racket run by an Uzbek woman exposed during the tenure of erstwhile NDA Government in 2001.
The agency has moved an application under Section 321 of CrPC before Tis Hazari special court seeking dropping of charges against Group A officers V K Singh Kushwah, then additional commissioner at the Delhi International Airport, H R Bhima Shankar, Rajiv Gupta, Virender Kumar Choudhary and Upendra Gupta, who were all Deputy Commissioners.
"We have decided to drop charges against these officers after we received opinion from Attorney General and Finance Ministry in this regard," CBI Director Ranjit Sinha said.

His predecessor A P Singh has refused to drop charges on the request of then Finance Secretary. The then Finance Secretary had asked him in 2011 to move to court seeking dropping of charges after.
Singh had then referred the matter to Attorney General who concurred with the view of Finance Ministry that charge could be dropped.
The case relates to a racket allegedly being run by an Uzbek woman Olga Kozireva hand in glove with the officials of Customs department. She was arrested on August 29, 2000 at the Delhi International Airport with 27 bags full of Chinese Silk fabrics measuring 81,160 yards valued at Rs 81.16 lakh.

It was alleged she was bringing fabrics to India for three years during which she travelled 68 times when she stayed in different hotels in here where the buyers themselves contacted her to purchase the goods.
CBI has alleged that these officers were hand-in glove with the woman and did not act despite having knowledge about the alleged crime.