SHILLONG, Oct 4 � A former Commissioner of Central Excise was today convicted by a special CBI court here for accepting bribe and sent to jail for four years.
LR Mithran, a former Commissioner of the Central Government office, adjudicating the tax case of M/S Kitply Ltd, Kolkata, wrote off Rs 26 crore tax dues of the company after accepting a bribe of Rs 8 lakh, in 1996.
During that period, she also established a trust in the name of her mother and family members and accepted a donation of Rs 5 lakh and a vehicle in the name of the trust.
The conviction may have come a bit late after 14 years, but, special CBI Judge, SR Sen today showed no leniency in convicting Mithran under Section 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced her to four years of rigorous imprisonment with additional fine of Rs 20,000.
The judgment was pronounced after examination of �Thirty witnesses in the case and hundreds of official documents.� During this long trial, Mithran tried unsuccessfully to secure a Special Leave Petition from the Supreme Court. The High Court too rejected her leave petition, CBI prosecutor, VK Jindal said.
Section 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act is a non-bailable offense. Mithran, Jindal said, can appeal in the High Court to secure bail. Mithran after the conviction today remained calm and at times was seen smiling.
Last Thursday, the special CBI court here convicted five persons, including a former Assistant General Manager of the Punjab National Bank and an accountant in the office of the Accountant General and sent all five to jail for two years for corruption.
Recently, the case of Rs 1000 crore PDS scam of Arunachal Pradesh came to focus in which the former Chief Minister Gegong Apang and other officials are said to be involved.
Last year, India retained position as one of the top corrupt nations of the world. Transparency International in its annual perception placed India at 84 out of 180 nations with a score of 3.4 out of 10. New Zealand was ranked the cleanest country with a score of 9.4 out of 10. The ranking was done based on the incidence of corruption in public sectors.
