Mumbai, Nov 27: The special CBI court on Thursday sentenced a former Assistant Commissioner of GST to five years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 1,00,000 in a bribery case, stating that his “act does not deserve any leniency.”
The court convicted 68-year-old Ashok Nayak after he was caught accepting a bribe from a complainant in exchange for helping settle a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Court Says Accused “Does Not Deserve Leniency”
Special judge Amit Kharkar, while awarding the punishment, observed, “The accused was a public servant who was expected to devote his sincere attention towards his duties and perform it honestly, instead he went out of the way and demanded illegal gratification to settle the matter by influencing the investigating officer by corrupt means.”
Vigilance Report Highlights Prior Complaints and Extortion
The court reviewed a report submitted by an officer from the Director General of Vigilance. “The officer stated that complaints were received alleging that Ashok Nayak was involved in swindling and extortion. A previous inquiry confirmed that the accused was guilty of taking money from one Kishor. The report reflects that the accused had obtained an amount of Rs 20,00,000 to help one of the accused arrested by the DRI to secure bail,” the court observed.
Nayak Demanded Rs10 Crore Bribe; Arrested While Accepting First Installment
In the case for which Nayak has been convicted, he had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 10 crore and was arrested while accepting the first instalment of Rs 1.25 crore.
Complainant Approached CBI After Threats and Bribe Demand
According to the prosecution, Jayaram Shetty owned a bar and restaurant called Kapal Bar & Restaurant, which was operated by the complainant, Raju Shetty. During a raid, Panvel City police officers seized over Rs 1.50 crore in cash and jewellery. Following this case, the ED also initiated an inquiry and summoned Raju Shetty, who did not appear as Jayaram Shetty was unwell.
It is alleged that in April 2017, Raju Shetty received two threatening calls from a person claiming to be Ranjeet Kumar from the ED, who instructed him to meet Nayak at Jyoti Hotel, Dadar. Raju met Nayak on April 29 and 30, 2017. Nayak allegedly demanded Rs 15 crore to settle the matter, which was later reduced to Rs 12 crore. Unwilling to pay, the complainant lodged a complaint with the CBI on May 3, 2017.
Accused Arrested Red-Handed; Associate Also Apprehended
On the following day, Nayak was arrested red-handed accepting the bribe amount.
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During questioning, Nayak disclosed that he had accepted the money for further delivery to his associate Dhananjay Shetty. On the directions of the CBI, Dhananjay was called to the spot. He was apprehended while accepting the cash from Nayak. Dhananjay, however, died pending the trial.
Based on the testimony of the witnesses and vigilance report, Nayak has been held guilty.
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