New Delhi: CBI has arrested an Indian Revenue Service officer for allegedly receiving bribes from the perpetrator of the StockGuru scam, Ulhas Prabhakar Khaire.
CBI sources said Yogendra Mittal, a 2006-batch IRS officer who was posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, was arrested on the allegations that, as the ADIT-Income Tax, he had received illegal gratification worth crores of rupees from Khaire in exchange for an assurance that he would settle his case and not inform other investigative agencies.
"It was alleged that a private person gave huge cash to the Income Tax Officer during Income Tax raids at his offices and residences on January 18-19, 2011," CBI spokesperson said. It said that the probe till now has revealed that Mittal, in furtherance of the said conspiracy, had allegedly demanded and obtained a bribe from Khaire.
"Searches were conducted at nine places, including at the office and residence of the Deputy Commissioner; his relatives and two other Income Tax Officers," a CBI spokesperson said here. The official said that Mittal was produced before the Special CBI court which has sent him to three days' police custody.
His role in the StockGuru scam is also being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. The scam was also investigated by Delhi Police. It is alleged that the raids led by Mittal in connection with the StockGuru scam were not carried out with complete honesty and were aimed at extracting illegal gratification.
The scam involves Khaire and his wife Raksha who were arrested last year by Delhi Police from Maharashtra for allegedly duping around two lakh investors in seven states of nearly Rs 493 crore by promising them high returns on investment through their firm StockGuru, which dealt with the share market.
After Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing exposed the scam, Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate also joined the probe.
The couple had floated StockGuru India in 2010, allegedly under the false identities of Lokeshwar Dev and Priyanka Saraswat Dev.
They allegedly lured people into investing in the firm by promising them high returns of 20 per cent per month up to six months on the principal amount followed by a subsequent refund of the principal amount in the seventh month.
CBI registered a case against Mittal, Khaire and other unknown persons in January for alleged criminal conspiracy under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.
