Guwahati, June 12: Four sales tax officials have come under the CID scanner for their alleged role in a multi-crore-rupee excise duty and sales tax evasion case involving liquor merchant Rajesh Jalan.
An official source said Jalan, who is in judicial remand after his arrest in December last year, had allegedly evaded payment of sales tax worth crores of rupees between 2012 and 2015 in connivance with a section of sales tax officials.
"The four officials will be summoned by the CID for questioning within the next few days. They will be quizzed about how the tax evasion went undetected for such a long period," the source said.
He said these officials had failed to do periodic reconciliation of sales tax payable by Jalan, either intentionally or by negligence, as a result of which he had been able to evade payment of taxes for so long.
The source said investigation so far have revealed that Jalan evaded payment of excise duty and sales tax totalling at least Rs 41 crore.
The scam, which took place during the previous Congress regime, came to light after the Sarbananda Sonowal government came to power last year and ordered a CID probe into it.
The CID registered the case under Sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using a forged document as genuine) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of IPC and Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Suspended excise superintendent (in-charge) of Hailakandi district Amarendra Nath, who was arrested in connection with the case in New Delhi on Friday night, was brought here this afternoon on transit remand.
From the airport, Nath was straightaway taken to the CID headquarters where he was questioned by senior officials. He was later produced before the court of special judge, Assam, Alokeswar Bhattacharyya, who remanded him in CID custody for 10 days.
Nath was the deputy superintendent of excise, Kamrup (metro), during the period of the scam.
A team of CID officials arrested Nath from a guest house in New Delhi's South Extension area with the help of the crime branch of Delhi police at 11.30pm on Friday and produced him before the court of chief metropolitan magistrate, Patiala House, on Saturday, which allowed his transit remand till June 13.
Two former excise commissioners and other senior officials of the excise department were also questioned by the CID.
The source said the chief minister today reviewed the progress of the investigation and directed additional director-general of police (CID) A.K. Jha to expedite the probe and ensure that none of the guilty persons go scot-free.
"The chief minister also asked Jha to examine the call records of Nath's mobile phone and take action against those who had helped him abscond and evade arrest," the source said.
