Juicer-mixer, table among assets ‘unearthed’

A wooden study table worth ₹600, a Philips Mixie worth ₹1,000 and a bank account with ₹239 are among the list of “assets” meticulously detailed by the CBI in its probe against a commissioner of the customs department, who is accused of amassing wealth illegally.

In the list, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has compiled over 61 assets or properties that were unaccounted for during a preliminary probe against Priyaranjan, who was posted as customs commissioner in Chennai.

On Thursday, the agency booked Priyaranjan for allegedly amassing wealth to the tune of ₹1.11 crore between January 1, 2010, and January 4, 2017. In its FIR, the CBI said it received information that of the ₹1.11 crore held by Priyaranjan, close to ₹55 lakh was found to be disproportionate.

The agency computed assets acquired by the commissioner between 2010 and 2017, which were found to be disproportionate. The exhaustive list contains items whose worth ranges between ₹239 and over ₹30 lakh.

Among the properties, bank balances and investments allegedly held by the commissioner are a plot of land in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag area worth ₹2 lakh, a flat in Tiruvallur district worth over ₹27 lakh, another flat in Jharkhand worth over ₹21 lakh , an Alto car worth ₹3.17 lakh and a motorcycle. While the agency meticulously lists out the major items, a great chunk of assets attributed to the commissioner include items for home usage.

“Thus, Shri Priyaranjan, as a public servant, during the period between January, 2010 and January 4, 2014, had acquired properties/pecuniary resources to the extent of ₹1,11,04,849 out of which ₹54,97,208, is disproportionate to his known sources of income of ₹56,07,641 for which he could not satisfactorily account,” the FIR reads.