Former Infosys CFO Demands Transparent Investigation Into Businessman's Suicide
In a strongly worded appeal, former Infosys chief financial officer TV Mohandas Pai has called upon the Union government to conduct an open and transparent investigation into the tragic death by suicide of Confident Group chairman CJ Roy. The prominent venture capitalist made his plea public through social media platform X, directing his concerns specifically toward Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Allegations of Systematic Harassment by Tax Authorities
Pai did not mince words when describing what he termed as "tax terrorism" allegedly perpetrated by the income tax department against business entities across the country. He drew parallels to previous cases, notably mentioning the unfortunate demise of Coffee Day founder Siddarth, which he attributed to similar pressures from tax authorities.
"Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, please conduct a full, open, transparent inquiry into this," Pai wrote in his post. "We lost Siddarth, founder of Coffee Day, to reported tax terrorism. Too many people are terrified by tax officials — an assault on citizens' rights. No way to govern our country."
Direct Appeal to Prime Minister for Taxpayer Protection
The veteran finance professional extended his appeal directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting intervention to safeguard taxpayers from what he characterized as aggressive and unjustified actions by tax officials. "PM Narendra Modi sir, please protect taxpayers from these kinds of attacks and assaults on citizens' rights," he emphasized in his social media statement.
Critique of Income Tax Raid Procedures and Accountability
Pai went further to describe the entire income tax raid process as "brutal" for business professionals, questioning the balance between enforcement powers and citizen protections. He raised pointed queries about accountability mechanisms within the tax administration system.
"FM gave such officials more and more powers, but where is citizens' protection? Are officials punished for a wrong raid? No," Pai asserted. He highlighted that while direct tax collections have reached record levels through voluntary compliance and technological improvements, the effectiveness and fairness of raid-based collections remain questionable.
Karnataka Deputy CM's Revelations About the Incident
The controversy gained additional dimension with Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's comments regarding the circumstances preceding Roy's death. According to Shivakumar, income tax officials had been extensively questioning the businessman before the tragic incident occurred.
"When they were asking him a lot of questions, he is said to have asked for 5 minutes of time, went inside, and did this," Shivakumar revealed, referring to the suicide. The deputy chief minister assured that the state government would conduct a high-level investigation to uncover the complete truth behind the incident.
Call for Transparency in Tax Enforcement Data
Pai concluded his critique with a demand for greater transparency in tax enforcement statistics, specifically requesting detailed information about collections through raids versus voluntary compliance. He questioned the efficiency of raid-based collections compared to the substantial amounts reportedly stuck in litigation or overturned by judicial authorities.
The former Infosys executive's comments have sparked renewed debate about the methods employed by tax authorities and their impact on business sentiment, particularly in India's technology and entrepreneurial hubs like Bengaluru where both Pai and Roy were based.
