IT officer booked for bribery; aide caught with Rs 8 lakh

Ahmedabad, Dec 16: A senior income tax (IT) officer has been booked for allegedly demanding Rs 8 lakh bribe from a man for not conducting his income tax assessment, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said Sunday.

Suresh Chand Meena, who served as the assistant commissioner in the Income Tax Department here, had allegedly made the demand from the man through two chartered accountants (CAs) and a junior IT officer, the ACB said in a release.

The man lodged a complaint with the ACB, which laid a trap on Saturday and caught CA Namitaben Singhania while accepting Rs 8 lakh as bribe, it said.

An employee of the IT department, identified as Sunil Patni, had also allegedly demanding Rs 50,000 from the complainant for asking Meena to resolve his matter, it said.

Meena, Patni, Namitaben Singhania and her CA husband Sumit Singhania were booked under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the ACB added.