Woman I-T officer arrested by CBI in Bhopal suspended

The CBDT has suspended a Deputy Commissioner rank Income Tax officer who along with her politician husband was recently arrested by the CBI in Bhopal on bribery charges.
Sources said the 2007 batch IRS officer in question, Poonam Rai has been placed under suspension and a parallel inquiry has also been initiated against her by the Vigilance wing of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
An I-T team in Delhi recently collected the arrest documents of Rai and her husband Ganesh Malviya, a BJP politician of the state, from the CBI after which suspension proceedings were initiated against her.

"According to procedures, a vigilance inquiry is on and she has been placed under suspension," sources told PTI.
CBI had arrested Rai, Malviya and two others on March 29 in the Madhya Pradesh capital.
The probe agency had registered a case against the I-T officer on the basis of a complaint alleging that Rai had demanded a bribe of Rs 25 lakh for closing pending matter of income tax assessment of the complainant's firm.

It was further alleged in the CBI complaint that Rai's husband Ganesh Malviya and middleman, identified as Preetam Chotrani, were negotiating the bribe amount at her behest.

During the verification of complaint, Malviya allegedly agreed to receive the part payment of Rs 10 lakh of the demanded bribe and asked the complainant to deliver the bribe amount to the middleman, the CBI had said.
CBI laid a trap and the bribe amount was allegedly accepted by the middleman at his office in the MP Nagar area of Bhopal.
Subsequently, the bribe amount was delivered to the residence of the I-T officer through Sanjay Raut, another private person, where Malviya was arrested while allegedly accepting the bribe amount.
CBI also seized account payee cheques of nearly Rs two crore value and 11 bank accounts during searches from the residence of Rai and her husband during the same operation.