CHENNAI: A Deputy Superintendent of Police in the CBI serving in New Delhi, and two others were convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment by a special court here on Tuesday for cheating the Customs Department by not declaring dutiable goods brought from the U.S.
According to the prosecution, DSP K.A.A. Salaam, then working in the agency’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Nagpur, connived with his friends G. Vinod Kumar Gollapudi, Natha Venkata Vathsa Vardhan and S.M Sadiq in February 2011 and abused his position as a CBI officer to facilitate evasion of Customs Duty.
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His associates had purchased electronic goods worth Rs. 8,62,650 and did not declare it in the Customs Disembarkation/Declaration cards on arrival at the Chennai airport.
An investigator said Salaam came on leave to Chennai and used his proximity with customs officials to get an airport entry pass. He went to the airport only to help his friends evade duty.
Salaam received the accused persons and took them out through the Green Channel. The CBI’s South Zone sleuths laid a trap and intercepted the accused. Salaam was suspended after the case was registered against him but later reinstated. Investigation revealed that there was no connivance of Customs officials.
The IX Additional Special Judge for CBI cases, Kannammal, who heard the case, convicted Salaam and imposed a fine of Rs. 20,000 on him.
Vinod Kumar Gollapudi and Natha Venkata Vathsa Vardhan were also convicted and imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 each. The fourth accused Sadiq was acquitted.
