In a significant crackdown, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested five senior officials from the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) department in connection with an alleged ₹50 lakh bribery case, registered on September 5. The arrested individuals include Deepak Sharma, an additional commissioner, and Rahul Kumar, a joint commissioner of the Indian Revenue Service, along with superintendents Bijender Janawa, Nikhil Agrawal, and Nitin Gupta. This comes after the CBI secured necessary permissions from the Finance Ministry under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case stems from a complaint lodged by a businessman from Goregaon, who runs a pharmaceutical trading firm. The businessman alleged that CGST officers detained and verbally abused him for 18 hours, demanding ₹80 lakh in exchange for not arresting him and providing favorable treatment in an ongoing tax-evasion investigation. After negotiations, the amount was reduced to ₹60 lakh, and ₹50 lakh was paid.
The CBI conducted raids at nine locations, recovering ₹30 lakh from the total bribe paid and seizing incriminating documents and digital devices. Evidence included encrypted communication among the accused on apps like FaceTime. A special court in Mumbai granted bail to joint commissioner Rahul Kumar on technical grounds, while the other four accused remain in judicial custody.
In September, prior arrests in the investigation included Sachin Gokulka, CGST superintendent, chartered accountant Raj Agarwal, and consultant Abhishek Mehta during controlled proceedings involving part-payment of the bribe. So far, eight individuals have been apprehended in the ongoing probe.
This case underscores the CBI’s intensified efforts to combat corruption within the tax administration, signaling potential systemic reviews to prevent such incidents in the future.
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