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Tax officials irked by Jaitley's allegations

Onkar Singh In Delhi

The Income Tax department has taken strong exception to what it categorises as the intemperate allegations of Samata Party president Jaya Jaitley.

At a media briefing on Monday, Jaitley alleged that an official attached to the IT department had, in course of the recent raids on cricketers, asked her for a bribe of Rs 50,000.

The officers who took part in the raid on the premises connected to India star Ajay Jadeja have protested against the allegations, and made their displeasure clear to the top brass in the IT department.

Members of the raiding party talked of how Jaitley refused to allow the officials into her premises. Instead, she summoned a senior officer from IT headquarters, and handed over to him documents relating to a Lancer car in Jadeja's name. The documents, she claimed, showed that the car belonged to the Sahara India group, in which Jadeja is employed as a vice-president. She also claimed that the premises in question were registered in her name.

"We are not disputing that," said a member of the raiding party. "But there was enough evidence to show that Jadeja lived more often in this house, than in his own flat in Greater Kailash. His golf kit, his clothes, they were all found at Jaya Jaitley's Khirki Extension residence," the official explained.

Suspended additional commissioner of Income Tax Vishwabandhu Gupta added a further spin to the story, when he criticised her for "bullying" the officials who were part of the raiding party.

"They (the members of the IT raiding party) should have gone to the nearest police station and registered a case against her for obstructing public servants in the discharge of their duties," Gupta said, adding, "Since she has brought it up, she should be made to name the official who, according to her, asked her for a bribe."

Gupta, further, pointed out that it was wrong on the part of the senior official to go to the spot in response to Jaitley's summons. "The top official of the department should be pulled up for going to the spot," he argued. "When a search party arrives to conduct a search and enters a particular place, the ownership of the place concerned automatically gets transferred to the Government of India. Till the time the team leaves the place, the position remains unchanged. The warrants are issued for conducting search operations in particular premises and not in the name of the individuals," Gupta said.

IT sources claimed that in course of the raids, large sums of money had been recovered from various sources. Documentary evidence, also seized during the raids, were being scrutinised, a senior official said, adding that various revelations could be expected within the next few days.

Federal Minister of State for Finance Dhananjay Kumar meanwhile refused to comment on the allegations made by Jaya Jaitley. "I will be making a statement in Parliament within the next two days," he said.