The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council officer Monish Malhotra and his conduit Manas Patra, a private tax consultant, on charges of corruption. This is the first instance of arrest of a GST Council official by the CBI. During searches, the CBI has recovered Rs 7 lakh in cash from the premises of Malhotra.
The CBI has said that Malhotra, the superintendent of GST Council, was recently posted in the GST Council headquarters at Jeevan Bharti Building in Delhi. “Patra has reportedly worked as a conduit for Malhotra and the officers involved. Some other officers are also under the scanner,” the CBI said. Both Malhotra and Patra, arrested on Wednesday night, have been booked under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
It is alleged that Patra, on the instruction of Malhotra, had collected illegal gratification from a number of private parties in the past few days, which was to be delivered to Malhotra on Wednesday evening.
“The agency had received input that Patra was scheduled to deliver collections of the “last few days” at the residence of Malhotra on Wednesday, along with the paper containing details of receipt of bribes. On getting the input, a CBI team searched the premises and arrested Malhotra and Patra”, a CBI official said.
“Malhota, while working as Superintendent, Range-36, Central Excise, Nehru Place, had been indulging in corrupt practices of extending undue favours to private parties or businessmen by not taking action against them in lieu of periodical illegal gratification. The source has also informed Patra contacts the parties on behalf of Malhotra and makes collection on quarterly/monthly basis. The collected money is further delivered to Malhotra through cheques/NEFT/cash by routing it through various accounts,” the FIR read.
The CBI FIR said that in order to camouflage the receipt of these amounts by the public servant the said amounts were deposited by Patra in his own a/c no 10914249376 in State Bank of India, Nehru Place. “Thereafter, all these amounts of illegal gratification were further transferred to the HDFC Bank Account number 0578160007544, of Shobhna Malhotra wife of Monish Malhotra through two cheques of amount of Rs 20,000/- each, dated May 19, 2017 and May 22, 2017 and to the ICICI Bank account number 102301002S76, of Aiyushj Malhotra daughter of Malhotra through two cheques of amount Rs 30,000/- and Rs 20,000/- dated May 24, 2017 and June 01, 2017 respectively,” the FIR said.