The Hindu : CBI arrests Minister's PA for 'taking bribe'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 23, 2003

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CBI arrests Minister's PA for 'taking bribe'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 22. A personal assistant of the Union Minister of State for Finance, Gingee Ramachandran, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation here today while allegedly accepting a bribe from a senior Indian Revenue Service officer here.

Official sources said R. Perumalswamy alias Babu was caught while accepting Rs. 4 lakhs from the IRS officer, Anurag Vardhan, for facilitating a posting of his choice. Mr. Vardhan, a Deputy Commissioner posted in New Delhi, was also arrested by the CBI for giving the bribe.

In a damage control action, the Finance Ministry immediately put on hold the transfer orders involving 54 Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax which were issued on May 21. The decision to keep in abeyance the postings came from the Union Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, who has initiated the process of systematising, rationalising and making the system of transfer and postings of the IRS transparent.

The arrest of the Minister's PA comes close on the heels of the CBI busting a scam in the Delhi Development Authority in which top officials, including the DDA Vice-Chairman, were arrested.

Sources said that Mr. Vardhan struck a deal with a Chennai-based chartered accountant, Krishnamurthy, according to which he would pay Rs. 5 lakhs to a "tout" in the Finance Ministry.

In return, Mr. Krishnamurthy would facilitate the transfer of the IRS officer to Mumbai.

Sources said Mr. Vardhan's name was on the transfer list of officers issued by the I-T Department last evening. The tout was to collect Rs. 4 lakhs as part payment for the deal from Mr. Vardhan's residence in Delhi. The residence was kept under surveillance and investigation showed that the "tout" was the first PA to Mr. Ramachandran, who belongs to the MDMK, a constituent of the ruling NDA coalition. Searches were conducted at the office and residence of Mr. Perumalswami, Mr. Vardhan and Mr. Krishnamurthy.

The CBI claimed it had seized Rs. 3.05 lakhs from Mr. Vardhan's house, and Rs. 69 lakhs and blank cheques for Rs. 85 lakhs at the residence of Mr. Krishnamurthy.

I have maintained probity: Minister

Our Chennai Special Correspondent reports:

Reacting to the arrest of his PA, Mr. Ramachandran said in a statement that legal proceedings would be initiated and that the law would take its own course.

Mr. Ramachandran said that in his 40-year public life he had maintained probity and the Prime Minister "knows about it". However, he was "very much pained" at the news that his PA had done a wrong thing. A "proper" transfer policy had been laid out for the Central Board of Excise and Customs and the Central Board of Direct Taxes and none could interfere in the transfers.

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