STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Vigilance Organisation Jammu (VOJ) on Monday filed a closure report of the case in which State Vigilance unearthed a multi-crore services tax scam in 2012 popularly known as Jagti township scam in the Court of Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu which was subsequently accepted by the court.
According to FIR, it was alleged that Vinod Koul, the then Relief Commissioner (Migrants) Jammu entered into a criminal conspiracy with M/S Maytas Rithwik (a joint venture firm) and in pursuance thereof Vinod Koul dishonestly, fraudulently and by abusing his official position made payment in respect of service tax to the tune of Rs.2,03,18,155 out of Government exchequer whereas the same was to be deducted from running bills of aforesaid firm submitted in the office of Relief Commissioner (Migrants) Jammu on account of work executed for construction of two room tenements at Jagti Nagrota Jammu thereby causing wrongful loss to the tune of aforesaid money to the Government exchequer and corresponding wrongful gain to the accused firm. The rate of service tax was 8.4 per cent between 2007 and 31st March 2010 and the same was revised at the rate of 10.5 per cent with effect from 1st April 2010. The FIR was registered against Vinod Kumar Koul and the aforesaid firm.
However, the investigation revealed that Vinod Koul with dishonest intention and by abusing his official position deducted service tax from the running bills of the contractor at the rate of 8.4 per cent only even after 1st of April 2010 and paid remaining 2.1 per cent to Service Tax Department from Government exchequer, earmarked for the aforesaid project resulting in wrongful gain to himself and aforesaid private firm at the cost of Government exchequer. This was done by him on the basis of his letter No.RCM/E/2543-45 dated 26th November 2007 addressed to the firm.
During the course of investigation, several documents were seized and statements of witnesses were recorded under Section 161 Cr.PC. The investigation so done in the case culminated in filing final report under Section 173 Cr.PC in this court on the ground that no criminality is made out and the case has been closed as not proved.
Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu Sanjeev Gupta after going through the final report observed that no criminality can be attributed to Vinod Koul, the then Relief Commissioner (M) with regard to the allegation of causing loss to the government exchequer by entering into a criminal conspiracy with the firm Matyas Rithwik which was allotted the work for construction of Jagti township in the year 2007 by the Jammu and Kashmir Government. “So, there is no scope for taking any other view other than that taken by the investigating officer of the case in the closure report which is subject matter of FIR in question. Accordingly, this final closure report is accepted”, he observed.