12 top tax officials told to retire amid bribe, sexual harassment probes

The Union government on Monday forced 12 senior tax officials to retire from their jobs over allegations of misconduct such as fraud, extortion and sexual harassment.

Eight of them are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation on corruption charges. This is the first time the government has made such a move against so many officials accused of corruption and malpractice.

The 12, all from the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), included seven commissioners – one of the topmost ranks in the Income Tax department; one joint commissioner, three additional commissioners and an assistant commissioner.

The list includes Ashok Agarwal, Joint Commissioner of I-T and former Deputy Director of Enforcement Directorate, SK Srivastava, Commissioner (Appeal, Noida), and Homi Rajvansh, an official of the Revenue Service.