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Home > Mumbai > Mumbai News > Article > Mumbai Crime I T commissioner busted day before daughters wedding

Mumbai Crime: I-T commissioner busted day before daughter's wedding

Updated on: 04 May,2017 09:40 PM IST  | 
Vijay Kumar Yadav |

In an ironic twist of fate, just a day before his daughter's wedding, the Income-Tax Commissioner of (Appeals-30), B Rajendra Prasad was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the CBI in a Rs 2-crore bribery case

Mumbai Crime: I-T commissioner busted day before daughter's wedding

CBI caught Prasad accepting Rs 19.34 lakh. Pic for Representation
CBI caught Prasad accepting Rs 19.34 lakh. Pic for Representation


In an ironic twist of fate, just a day before his daughter's wedding, the Income-Tax Commissioner of (Appeals-30), B Rajendra Prasad was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the CBI in a Rs 2-crore bribery case. Five others, including MD of Essar Group of Companies - from Mumbai and Visakhapatnam - were arrested along with him on Wednesday morning.


Siphoning for wedding?
Meanwhile, the police suspect that Prasad was throwing the lavish affair with the use of some of that illegally acquired money. Subsequent searches at multiple places belonging to the accused have already led to the recovery of nearly Rs 1.5 crore. Prasad is a 1992-batch IRS officer who has served at various crucial postings in the I-T department. Most recently, he was posted in Mumbai and was on leave when the CBI came down on him at his Visakhapatnam residence.


What's the connect?
The five other arrested people have been identified as real estate trade agent Suresh Kumar Jain, Pradeep Mittal, MD of Essar Group of Companies, accounts officer of Essar group, Vipin Bajpai, chartered accountant Shreyash Parikh and Manish Jain, a suspected hawala operator and proprietor of Maa Ambe Jewelers at Zaveri Bazaar.

CBI sources said that while handling a matter for Balaji Trust, represented by Essar Investments, Prasad demanded a bribe of Rs 2 crore to pass an order in their favour, which was then paid to him over a span of two months.

After the CBI received information about this deal, they followed it through the span of the deal till the culmination. Additionally, a case of bribery was also registered by the Visakhapatnam CBI.

According to Prasad's instructions, the money was to be delivered in Mumbai to Manish Jain (suspected to be the hawala operator), who would then transfer it to his relative Suresh Kumar Jain in Visakhapatnam. It's also where Prasad intended to pick it up in parts.

Trap was laid
However, since the CBI was onto them throughout, it laid a trap and caught Prasad accepting Rs 19.34 lakh - a part of the bribe amount from Suresh. Prasad and Suresh were immediately arrested and subsequent searches at their residences and offices led to the recovery of Rs 1.50 crore.

Several property documents along with details of bank accounts, three lockers and other incriminating documents were also recovered during the searches. Meanwhile, the private persons involved in the case facilitated flow of graft money from Essar group to Prasad and hence were involved in the offence.

All accused have been booked under sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

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