Karuna Kodwani was asked to pay Rs 10 lakh to avoid I-T assessment; CBI laid trap to arrest the officer and his accomplice, Kodwani's Chartered Accountant, red-handed
Karuna Kodwani
Karuna Kodwani
When noted nutritionist and yoga expert Karuna Kodwani was asked to pony up a Rs 10 lakh bribe by I-T officer Navin Kumar and CA Vinay Gupta, she decided to take them head-on and instead, with the help of her father Prabhu Dayal, filed a written complaint with the CBI. Acting on it, the CBI laid a trap on Friday and has now arrested the duo for criminal conspiracy, public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration, and abetting a public servant.
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Written complaint
Sources in the CBI said, “On December 29, we received a written complaint from Prabhu wherein it is alleged that officer Kumar at Piramal Chambers, Lalbaug, demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 10 lakh to show undue favour and settle the I-T returns assessment of his daughter, Karuna.”
Prabhu further alleged that around 10 days ago, their CA, Gupta, first communicated the demand to his wife Geeta. According to him, the CA had warned them that since Karuna’s return had come under scrutiny, if the bribe is not paid, the officer would specifically raise unnecessary queries and pass an order for tax and penalty amounting to Rs 1.81 crore. The officer then personally reiterated this demand when they met him on December 27 and 29 in the presence of their CA.
ACB investigates
Following the complaint, the ACB started its investigation and confirmed that the demand had been made. On December 30, it laid a trap with Prabhu’s help and also verified that Navin had asked Prabhu to handover an initial payment of Rs 50,000 to the CA at his office.
Later, following their arrest after being caught red-handed, the duo was presented in court and sent to judicial custody till January 13.
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