Fire officer booked for Rs 66.33 lakh black money

SURAT: S K Acharya, deputy chief fire officer of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), who has been arrested for the alleged criminal negligence in the Takshashila Arcade fire tragedy, was booked on Thursday by the Surat anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.
Acharya, then posted in Varachha, was one of the accused officers found responsible for the casualties in the fire by the SMC and later arrested by the Surat crime branch. On May 24, the fire had erupted in Takshashila Arcade and snuffed out the lives of 22 students who had gone there to attend coaching classes run in the building.
In the ACB probe, Acharya was found smurfing. He had deposited Rs 67.33 lakh black money in undisclosed bank accounts.
During the inquiry, the ACB found 81.40% higher wealth of Acharya compared to his legally declared sources of income. Acharya has been booked under Prevention of Corruption Act. Acharya is currently lodged in Lajpore Central Jail.
The ACB inquired about earnings and spendings of Acharya from April 2008 to March 2019. During this period, he earned Rs 82.72 lakh from salary, which is the only legally declared source of income. However, his spending was Rs 54.82 lakh during the same period. He generated Rs 67.33 lakh, around 81.40%, more wealth compared to his legal income during this period. The ACB official suspect that Acharya had parked a large chunk of his black money in cash in different bank accounts.
Acharya deposited the amount in bank accounts which he did not disclose in his income tax details and after a certain period he converted the balance into fixed deposits. To smurf the money Acharya made transactions of less than Rs 50,000 with bank for which he did not have to quote details through which the IT department could have tracked him.
“The accused deposited the cash of Rs 74.35 lakh in different bank accounts during the period of inquiry, while a very small amount was spent from his salary account. Hence, it is also a matter of investigation that from where he sourced the money he had spent during these years since he was continuously depositing cash,” said an ACB official.
During the inquiry, the ACB also found that the accused owned an SUV and three plots in Raghunathpur of Odisha. Till now, the ACB did not find any other property belonging to Acharya in the city. “Initially the ACB inquired about banking transactions, and now further inquiry about his wealth will be carried out during investigation,” said the official.
Meanwhile, the ACB also started DA inquiries against class two and three officers of the SMC and sought approval from competent authority of the SMC to initiate inquiry against class one officers.
Earlier, the ACB booked V K Parmar, deputy engineer, and H D Singh, junior engineer, both employees of the SMC and booked by the crime branch in connection with the Takshashila Arcade fire, in DA cases. The ACB found Rs 1.20 crore, 116.61%, more wealth against legally declared sources of income of Parmar. And in case of Singh, the ACB found Rs 42.62 lakh, 47.88%, more income.