14 years on, IT officer gets jail for graft

Mumbai: Fourteen years after he was caught over corruption charges, a former income tax commissioner was sentenced to three years in jail while his wife was jailed for two years.

Special CBI Judge R.N. Joshi found A.K. Purwar and his wife Chhaya Purwar guilty of various charges on Friday, an official said on today.

While Purwar was also fined Rs.100,000, his wife was fined Rs.50,000. If they don't pay the fines, they will undergo an additional six and three months in jail respectively.

Purwar and his wife were held guilty of offences registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.

In December 2001, the CBI found that Purwar had assets of Rs.2.28 crore, about 400 percent more than his known sources of income. These included flats in New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Indore and a plot of land in Agra.

Chhaya Purwar also owned Kisan Vikas Patras worth around Rs.2.17 crore, numerous branded watches valued at around Rs.500,000, besides shares and fixed deposits of Rs.20 lakhs.

After detailed investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Purwar for having disproportionate assets and his wife for abetment.

Upholding the CBI case, Special Judge Joshi convicted the couple for amassing assets to the tune of Rs.1.90 crore in 1989-2001.

The Special Court also ordered the seizure and forfeiture of the Kisan Vikas Patras and branded watches and imposed a fine of Rs.150,000 on the Ahmedabad flat.

An Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the 1971 batch, Purwar served in various capacities in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.