In a significant crackdown on corruption within the tax administration, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has dismantled an alleged bribery network operating from the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) office in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. The agency arrested five individuals, including a senior tax official, in a meticulously planned trap operation.
The Trap and Arrests
Acting on a tip-off received on Tuesday, the CBI registered a case against senior CGST officials who were allegedly demanding a massive bribe of Rs 1.5 crore from private companies. The illicit payment was sought in exchange for providing favourable outcomes in ongoing GST evasion cases. To catch the culprits red-handed, the federal agency laid a trap.
During the operation, two CGST superintendents, identified as Anil Tiwari and Ajay Kumar Sharma, were apprehended while they were allegedly accepting Rs 70 lakh as the first instalment of the bribe. Investigations revealed that the duo was collecting the money on behalf of Deputy Commissioner Prabha Bhandari, a 2016-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer. Following their capture, Bhandari was also taken into custody.
Expanding the Net and Major Seizures
The CBI's net widened further with the subsequent arrests of advocate Naresh Kumar Gupta and Raju Mangtani, the proprietor of M/s Jai Durga Hardware, in connection with the same alleged conspiracy. All five accused were arrested following the successful trap.
The agency then conducted coordinated searches at multiple locations linked to the accused. These raids yielded substantial evidence, leading to the recovery of large amounts of cash, property documents, and valuables. Initially, around Rs 90 lakh was seized along with what officials described as "huge jewellery and precious metals." The total cash recovered has now been confirmed to stand at a staggering Rs 1.60 crore. Search operations are still ongoing as the investigation continues to unfold.
Legal Proceedings and a Recent Precedent
The arrested individuals are expected to be presented before the jurisdictional court after they complete their mandatory medical examinations. This case highlights the CBI's continued focus on rooting out corruption from government offices.
In a separate but similar incident just days earlier, on December 26, the CBI had arrested a senior secretariat assistant posted at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. That official was caught allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 60,000 to clear bills for security and manpower services. The accused in that case was sent to three days of police custody.
Further investigation is actively underway in both cases, underscoring the agency's commitment to tackling graft at various levels of public service.
