CBI on November 29, arrested two employees of the Aaykar Bhawan Silchar (Office of the Assistant Income Tax Office) in a bribery case related to the cancellation of PAN Cards.
Among the arrested employees one is permanent female employee and another contractual employee. The arrested employee identified as Dipti Sarkar, a permanent fourth-grade staff member and Swapan Kumar Das, a contractual employee.
According to information, the bribery case came into light after a complaint was filed by Jahanara Begum, a resident of Tulagram village, Sonaimukh area in the Cachar district.
The arrests were based on video evidence, which collected during a week-long investigation. They have taken to Guwahati for further legal action.
According to reports, Jahanara Begum had two PAN Cards in her possession, which is against Section 272B of the IT Act. According to this law the people who had 2 pan card imposes a fine of ₹10,000 .
On July 15, 2024, Jahanara Begum visited the Income Tax office in Circuit Road, Silchar, to surrender one of her two PAN cards, as holding multiple PAN cards is against the law. In the office, Income Tax Officer (ITO) Sudarshan Das instructed her to submit an application and an affidavit, promising that one of the cards would be cancelled within three months. However, despite the time passing, both cards remained active.
Concerned about the delay of the cancellation of the card, Jahanara returned to the office in November with her nephew. She questioned the ITO, pointing out that another applicant who applied after her had already had their card cancelled.
While the ITO blamed a backlog of applications from 2022-23 and sent her to another room for clarification. After going to the room, staff members Dipti Sarkar and Swapan Kumar Das demanded ₹10,000 to speed up the process. Shocked by this bribe demand—which matched the fine for holding two PAN cards—Jahanara left with her nephew. Her nephew reported the matter to the CBI and lodged a formal complaint.
The CBI began an investigation, visiting Jahanara’s home to gather details and organize a sting operation. They equipped her nephew with a hidden camera to record negotiations with the staff. After several attempts over seven days, they managed to secured video evidence on November 28. During the negotiations, the bribe demand was reduced from ₹10,000 to ₹4,000 involving Dipti, Swapan, and another employee, Simi Das.
On November 29, a CBI team from Shillong executed the operation. With ₹4,000 provided by the CBI, the complainant revisited the Aaykar Bhawan, where Dipti and Swapan were caught red-handed accepting the bribe in Silchar. Although Simi was absent, Dipti Sarkar and Swapan Kumar Das were arrested.
During Interrogation of the arrested employee, the two admitted to taking bribes to process over 700 pending PAN card applications.
For further inquiry the arrested were taken to Guwahati for further investigation.
The CBI plans to question ITO Sudarshan Das, who is currently away for training and Simi Das to determine their involvement in the bribery scheme. Further investigation is going on.
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