Mumbai: Ex-income tax officer gets 3-year jail term for disproportionate assets

The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Tuesday convicted a 67-year-old retired income tax inspector for possession of a disproportionate asset worth ₹59

The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Tuesday convicted a 67-year-old retired income tax inspector for possession of a disproportionate asset worth ₹59.89 lakh, over and above his income from known sources.

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The court sentenced the convict, Leeladhar Bangera, to rigorous imprisonment for three years and also imposed a fine of ₹16,000. The court also ordered the recovery of the value of disproportionate assets from his movable and immovable properties.

At Bangera’s request, the special court suspended his sentence for four weeks to enable him to approach the Bombay high court (HC) to challenge the verdict.

As per the prosecution, a case against Bangera and his wife was registered on October 7, 2011, for possession of assets disproportionate to their income from known sources between January 2007 and March 2010.

Bangera had joined the income tax department in September 1976, as a stenographer. He was later promoted as an income tax inspector in April 2005. His wife Jayashri worked with the Mineral and Metal Trading Corporation Limited. As such, both of them were public servants.

The CBI alleged that during their service, the couple acquired assets worth ₹77.21 lakh against their income of ₹17.2 lakh. Hence, the anti-corruption wing of the agency claimed that their assets were disproportionate to the tune of ₹59.89 lakh in comparison to their combined income.

The CBI court had charged the couple for possession of disproportion assets. However, during the trial, Jayashri died in November 2016. Hence, the case against her was dropped and only Bangera went on trial.