Lagatar24Desk
New Delhi, Sep 14: In connection with allegations of corruption and criminal conspiracy, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a case against Santosh Karnani, a former Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, his wife, one director of an Ahmedabad-based company and others related.
The CBI cited a number of suspects, including his wife Arti Karnani and Ilesh Shah, Director of Shree Kanhai Realty Pvt Ltd.
Santosh Karnani, who was the Additional Commissioner of income tax in Ahmedabad at the time, was the subject of a corruption investigation filed by the CBI in October 2022. He is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer from the 2005 batch.
It was said that when an ACB Gujarat team arrived at Karnani’s office, he fled by making a scene to foil the trap. Before fleeing, the CBI claimed that Karnani handed over Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax Vivek Johri two cell phones.
“Johri was apprehended for helping Karnani escape arrest. Johri facilitated Karnani’s escape and also disposed of his two mobile handsets by throwing them into the Sabarmati river,” the CBI statement said.
Later, utilising diving equipment and remotely controlled vehicles outfitted with SONAR technology and the assistance of divers and other agencies, the CBI was able to recover both phones.
The seized mobile phone data showed that Karnani reportedly communicated confidential information with private companies and others who had a connection to him either directly or indirectly or with the company of family members.
“There are incriminating WhatsApp chats exchanged between accused Santosh Karnani and llesh Kumar Shah, stored in mobile handset of Santosh Kanani as “Sigma llesh Shah”. The relevant chats exchanged between them are self-explanatory. Like on September 1, 2022 at 8.33 am llesh Shah sent a WhatsApp message enquiring whether the draft sale deed was ok and requested to review and revert. Upon which accused Santosh Karnani at 10:59 hrs requested, llesh Shah to send a revised draft and told that he will check and revert,” the CBI said.
The scrutiny of the WhatsApp communication revealed that Santosh Karnani purchased a non-agricultural land in the name of his wife Aarti Karnani for a sale price of Rs 40 Lakh. The aforementioned plot’s market value is around Rs 3.5 crore, according to the CBI.
Santosh Karnani misappropriated his official position by giving advice against the income tax department and knowingly and deliberately assisting Ilesh Shah in obtaining a favorable order in a case that was before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, the CBI stated. This information came to light during the investigation of additional chats and document exchanges.
