CBI exposes Tax Officer's extortion racket in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) probe into the corruption case of a Former Senior Tax Assistant exposed how the tainted official reportedly misused his superior officers’ credentials through unauthorized access, transferred PAN cards, and tried to extort money from gullible taxpayers.
Case Details
On 5 November 2024, Quamar Aulam Khan, a 33-year-old former Senior Tax Assistant from ACIT Circle 12(1), was arrested following a corruption complaint in July and was remanded in judicial custody. The case originated from a complaint by Anand Ramasamy, a salaried employee in Hyderabad, who alleged that Khan demanded a bribe of Rs. 6 lakhs and forcibly took Rs. 15,000.
According to the complainant, the accused officer Khan allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs.6 lakh for not raising any issues in the complainant’s Income Tax Returns(ITRs) filing. When the complainant approached the accused officer, he reportedly snatched Rs.15,000 from the complainant in his office in November 2023. Since then, the tainted official started harassing the complainant for the payment of Rs.6 lakh bribe, failing which, the accused official threatened to block the PAN card and bank account. The officer also allegedly harassed the complainant for revealing his ITRs e-portal password, according to the CBI complaint.
Modus Operandi
Khan unauthorizedly transferred taxpayers' PAN cards between wards, allegedly misused departmental email systems, and accessed confidential tax information through his accomplice. Further, he threatened taxpayers with administrative actions and demanded bribes by exploiting their fear of tax complications.
Investigation findings
Investigations revealed that Khan manipulated the tax system by transferring the complainant's PAN between Wards,enabling unauthorized access to income tax returns with accomplices. Further probe revealed that Khan, without proper authorization, misused the email credentials of D.Sreedhar Reddy, Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, and P. Magendran, Income Tax Officer, to send fraudulent communications to multiple taxpayers. He allegedly sent official emails demanding additional documents.
The investigation uncovered that Khan made phone calls to at least eight different taxpayers, suggesting a broader conspiracy to selectively target and extort from high-income taxpayers. When authorities conducted a raid on his residence, they seized a pseudonymous letter addressed to the Principal Director of Income Tax (Investigation), Hyderabad. Further investigation is underway.
