Rajasthan: ACB arrests IRS officer Shashank Yadav with unaccounted Rs 16 lakh

JAIPUR/KOTA: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday arrested an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer with unaccounted Rs 16 lakh in his SUV on Kota Hanging Bridge near toll plaza on Kota-Udaipur highway. The vehicle had logo of Uttar Pradesh police.
Following his arrest, the ACB started raids and a team will visit his home in Uttar Pradesh. He has been arrested in alleged disproportionate income case and ACB is primarily considering the unaccounted income as bribe money taken from opium cultivators for allowing cultivation. The officer, identified as Shashank Yadav, is posted as general manager of an opium factory at Ghazipur in UP and is holding an additional charge at an opium factory in Nimach, Madhya Pradesh.
According to ASP (ACB, Kota) Chandrasheel Thakur, the agency received a tip off that officials of Nimach opium factory were allegedly collecting Rs 60,000–80,000 from the opium cultivation licence holder farmers in Chittorgarh, Kota, Jhalawar, Pratapgarh areas of Rajasthan for sanctioning their opium produce samples with standard liquid quality and percentage of morphine so that the cultivators could be allotted 10-12 aari patta (lease) for opium cultivation. Farmers have to deposit their opium produce in Nimach opium factory. “He was on our radar for quite some time. We have booked him for disproportionate assets case and for bribery,” said BL Soni, Director General, ACB told TOI.
Primary investigation suggested that the accused was taking the bribe that the bribe amount was being collected through middlemen Ajit Singh of opium laboratory and Deepak Yadav of coding team in Nimach opium factory and the IRS officer was in Rajasthan these days and was going to Ghazipur in UP through Kota–Udaipur highway after collecting the bribe amount, he said. When inquired about the source of amount in the SUV, the IRS officer could not respond satisfactorily following which he was initially detained and his interrogation is underway at Kota. Thakur said, Ajit Singh and Deepak Yadav have collected in advance around Rs 30-36 crore from around 6,000 opium farmers for allotting them lease for opium cultivation. Thakur said, Ajit Singh and Deepak Yadav have collected in advance around Rs 30-36 crore from around 6,000 opium farmers for allotting them lease for opium cultivation.