Patna: The income tax (I-T) department is yet to initiate any disciplinary action against the joint commissioner of the department, Ram Babu Gupta, who was arrested from Patna on Wednesday allegedly on the charge of molestation and sexual assault on a girl from Sikkim at his institution.
A senior IPS officer associated with the investigation said as per rule, Gupta should have been put under suspension within 24 hours of his judicial custody (arrest). However, no disciplinary action had been taken against Gupta, a 2005-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer posted in Patna.
On being contacted, acting Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Lallan Mohan Prasad said on Saturday that top officials of the I-T department of Bihar and Jharkhand region were informed about the arrest of the department's senior official and the charges levelled against him on Wednesday itself.
The SSP said the relevant information was also provided to the inspector-general (Patna zone) Nayyar Hasnain Khan and the additional director-general of police (headquarters) S.K. Singhal. "It is up to the department concerned to initiate disciplinary action against the erring official," Prasad told The Telegraph over phone.
Though the chief commissioner of income tax (Bihar and Jharkhand) KC Ghumaria was not available for comment, a senior officer posted at its Patna office, said: "The disciplinary action against the officer in question is under process. It will take a few days to get an official order issued."
He, however, admitted that the order could not be issued due to procedural delay. "Normally, the order is issued in a day or two. But in this case, it is getting delayed," he added.
In the meantime, the family members of a woman karate teacher of Sitamarhi, Lalita, alleged that the I-T official had promised in April 2017 to adopt her family but he failed to keep his promise.
Lalita, a resident of Laxminia village under Sonbarsa block in Sitamarhi district, featured on the cover of the flagship report of Unicef, said her family felt deceived by Gupta, the founder of Ekalavya Super 50.
Patna additional superintendent of police (law and order) Sibli Nomani quizzed a few girls staying in the hostel of the Ekalavya Super 50, a private coaching institute running in the state capital. Nomani also recorded the statement of a few girls, who corroborated the victim's ordeal.
A total of 74 boys and girls are admitted to the institute to prepare for medical and engineering admission test. Of them, 15 girls are stated to be residents of Sikkim.
An FIR was lodged against Gupta on the statement of the victim, who was allegedly molested by the accused on February 16. The IRS officer is at present lodged at Beur Central Jail in Patna and is facing charges under Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act.
