CBI crackdown: Jhansi CGST officials caught taking Rs 70 lakh bribe; Rs 1.60 crore seized

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has uncovered an alleged bribery network operating inside the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) office in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, arresting five individuals, including a deputy commissioner, two superintendents, an advocate and a private company owner, officials said on Wednesday.According to news agency ANI, the CBI registered the case on Tuesday after receiving information that senior CGST officials were demanding Rs 1.5 crore as illegal gratification from private firms in return for favourable treatment in GST evasion cases. The accused include a deputy commissioner of CGST, two Superintendents posted at the Jhansi office, an advocate and an owner of a private company.The agency laid a trap and caught the two superintendents red-handed while allegedly accepting Rs 70 lakh as part of the bribe. Two officials, Anil Tiwari and Ajay Kumar Sharma, were allegedly collecting the money on behalf of deputy commissioner Prabha Bhandari, a 2016-batch IRS officer (Customs and Indirect Taxes). Following this, Bhandari was also taken into custody.The CBI later arrested advocate Naresh Kumar Gupta and Raju Mangtani, the owner of M/s Jai Durga Hardware, in connection with the same case.All five accused were arrested after the trap operation.Subsequent searches carried out by the central agency led to the recovery of large amounts of cash, along with property-related documents and valuables. The searches resulted in the seizure of around Rs 90 lakh initially, along with “huge jewellery and precious metals”. According to news agency PTI, it was later confirmed that the total cash seized so far stands at Rs 1.60 crore. Search operations are still underway, and the investigation is continuing.The accused are expected to be produced before the jurisdictional courts after completing medical examinations.On December 26, the agency had arrested a senior secretariat assistant posted at Kendriya Vidyalaya, BNP, Dewas, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 60,000. The case was registered on December 24 following a complaint that the official had demanded money to clear bills related to security and manpower services.The accused was caught in a trap operation and later sent to police custody for three days.The CBI said further investigation is underway in both cases.