CBI REGISTERS CASE AGAINST CUSTOMS EMPLOYE

PANJIM: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case of disproportionate assets against Suresh Vinayak Azgaonkar alias Suresh Vinayak Morazkar, a sepoy with the customs and central excise department, Mormugao, following searches on his two residential places and his assets were found to be around 400 times more than his known source of income.

According to the information provided by the CBI officials here, Azgaonkar’s assets (both movable and immovable) during the period ranging from May 1, 2008 to 31 December 2009 were found to be over Rs 60 lakh where as his annual income was just Rs 1.40 lakh.

The CBI officials said that Azgaonkar, who was booked by the police earlier in a cheating case for duping job aspirants, acquired assets worth Rs 34.65 lakh between May 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009, as against his known income of Rs 1.40 lakh as an employee of customs and central excise department.

The CBI investigations revealed that he purchased property running into lakhs of rupees but sold to the builder. Another house bought by him has been attached by the police after a cheating case was registered against him. Following attachment of the house, which he bought after availing loan, he stopped paying installments and the banks have started sending him notices for recovery of loan amount.

The CBI officials said that he purchased a trailer worth Rs 19 lakh (paying Rs 2.92 lakh as margin money in cash) and a WagonR 4-wheeler after paying Rs 1.36 lakh in cash as margin money. Besides, he also purchased a Honda 2-wheeler during the same period. They also said that his expenditure during the same period was to the tune of Rs 26.75 lakh, which could account satisfactorily during the course of investigations.

The accused in the disproportionate assets case also had fully paid (one-time premium) insurance policies to the tune of Rs 12 lakh and his bank accounts were being scrutinised. He is reported to have started a transport office (Azgaonkar Service) in the name of his wife, who till then was a full-time housewife, as a front for his business without informing his department officials.

The houses were searched by police sub-inspector, Mr P S Surve, along with other CBI staff, Mr S K Naik and Mr P G Naik. The case is being investigated under the supervision of Mr S S Gawli, the superintendent of police, CBI.

In another development, a cheating case has been registered against two officials of customs and central excise, Ms Maria Fernandes (examiner) and Mr P R Dhabolkar (tax assistant) and a Verna-based high-tech firm, M/s Smartlink Network Systems for attempting to cheat the department to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore by submitting time-barred refund claims.

A case against the three have been registered by the CBI for attempt to cheat, falsification of records and abuse of official position by public servants (customs department officials) by PSI, Mr Anil Kumar Dabas, after carrying out searches on the houses of two officials and the offices of the Smartlink.

According to the information provided by the CBI, the firm produced three time-barred claims towards refund of excess customs duty paid on the sale of goods during the period from July 2009 to December 2009 with the customs department, against the laid down norms.

These claims, the CBI officials said, should normally be made within a year of payment of duty but were made after the expiry of due period. Two of the claims were processed by the customs officials abusing their official position while the third one was just submitted.

Cases have been registered against the company and the customs officials under Sections 120B read with 420, 477A and 511of the Indian Penal Code and section 13(2) read with 13(1)d of the Prevention of Corruption Act. (NT)