NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Finance Rameswar Thakur’s bid to influence members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is believed to have been his second attempt to scuttle the investigation into the multi crore ban scam.
Informed sources said that senior officials from an investigating agency went to the Prime Minister’s Office about a month back to make an informal complaint about what they felt were attempts to scuttle the income tax investigations against Harshad Mehta.
These officials are reported to have alleged that senior Finance Ministry officials investigating income tax violations were asked to “shift attention” from investigating the ‘Big Bull’. The PMO was reportedly informed that Central board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman S. Ramamunhy was directed to carry the investigation out in a “general manner,” without focusing on specific groups or individuals.
It is also believed that the transfer on a top Bombay Income Tax official who was supervising the investigation on Harshad Mehta was ordered at the highest levels.
Although it was officially stated that the transfer was routine, it was common knowledge in investigating circles that this was transparent bid to slow down the probe, Harshad Mehta, the first big broker to have been nabbed when the stock scam broke was raided a day before the budget was presented, on February 28. The raids continued till March 4, and overall computer floppies were recovered,
In fact, the CBI has been unhappy with the way the Income Tax officials have been sharing information decoded from the floppies. The CBI has not been able to decode, and what little information they have received led to the discovery of a check of Rs 32 lakh from Mehta being paid into K J Investments, the firm run by K Jayakar. Other investigating agencies are worried that the floppies will meet the same face that floppies seized from Niranjan Shah’s residence met transactions involving Mehta were erased.
No formal complaint has so far been made against the Finance Ministry for the non-handling over of the floppies, since the CBDT has been claiming that there was a delay in processing the IT cases.
The other investigating agencies say it hardly takes any time to process an income tax case, one merely compares unearthed income with income that has already been declared, and issue a notice. However, the agencies are considering approaching Rao on his return from Jakaras.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 18, 1992
