Ahmedabad: A CBI court here has convicted and sentenced an Inspector of Central Excise and Service Tax, Bhavnagar, to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) along with a fine of Rs 63 lakh in a disproportionate assets case.

The accused, Kaushik Anvantrai Karelia, was formerly posted as an Appraiser/Preventive Officer at the Kandla Special Economic Zone (KASEZ) and is presently posted at Bhavnagar. His wife, Pooja Karelia, has also been sentenced to one year of imprisonment with a fine of Rs 50,000 for abetment of the offence.

The Central Bureau of Investigation registered the case on September 30, 2013, against Karelia, then Appraiser/Preventive Officer at KASEZ, on allegations that during the period September 1, 2008 to March 31, 2013, he had amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of Rs 19,86,661, which was 130 per cent in excess of his known income.

During the course of investigation, the check period was revised from April 1, 2004 to March 20, 2013. Following the investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet on September 3, 2014, against Karelia and his wife, Pooja for amassing assets worth Rs 57,60,729.15, which was found to be 183.57 per cent disproportionate to their known sources of income.

After completion of the trial, the court convicted and sentenced both the accused accordingly. DeshGujarat