2 SGST officials among 3 held in 1cr bribery case

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested a private individual and detained two senior officials of the Maharashtra State Goods and Services Tax Department in connection with an alleged Rs 1 crore bribery demand from a businessman in Nashik. Officials said the accused include Somnath Dattu Page (47), deputy commissioner of state tax, and Machhindra Vitthal Donde (55), assistant commissioner of state tax, both posted at the GST office in Nashik. A private person, Amit Hiraman Jadhav (36), was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting the first instalment of Rs 20 lakh on their behalf on Friday.

An ACB official said the officers had allegedly demanded Rs 1.25 crore from the complainant to expedite and settle a GST investigation against his office at Damodar Chowk in Nashik. During searches, officials recovered Rs 2 lakh from Page’s office and seized mobile phones of the accused.