CBI arrests IRS officer, CGST superintendent in bribery case

The CBI has arrested a 2009-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer serving as an additional commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, along with a CGST superintendent and a private person, in a bribery case involving an alleged demand of Rs 1.5 crore, officials said Friday.

The agency had earlier registered an FIR against CGST superintendent Rakesh Kumar Sinha based on allegations that he had demanded bribe to settle a GST and royalty matter involving a stone-quarrying firm, the agency said.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the alleged bribe demand of Rs 1.5 crore was later reduced to Rs 40 lakh following negotiations. “The accused public servants had arranged for collection of the bribe amount through a private person and accordingly directed the complainant,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

A CBI team laid a trap on Thursday and caught the private individual while allegedly accepting Rs 40 lakh, the agency said.

The acceptance of the bribe amount was subsequently acknowledged by the accused superintendent of CGST Rakesh Kumar Sinha as well as the accused additional commissioner of CGST, 2009-batch IRS officer Vinay Kumar Kantheti.

All three accused have been arrested and are being produced before court, the spokesperson said. The CBI conducted searches at premises linked to the accused following the arrests, resulting in recovery of Rs 43 lakh in cash and jewellery valued at about Rs 90 lakh, the agency said.