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Mumbai, October 8 (IANS) Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Wednesday that it has arrested a superintendent of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) in Mumbai for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a businessman.
According to a CBI statement, the arrested officers have been identified as Superintendent Vikram and Inspector Luv Kumar Chittoria, both were posted in the CGST Santa Cacruz Division.
The statement said that a case was registered on Tuesday after a complaint of a textile merchant, who applied online for the GST registration of his firm on 24 September.
The complainant alleged that during a field inspection on 3 October, Chittoria demanded Rs 25,000 as an illegal abuse for himself and his senior officer.
Officials allegedly warned that the GST registration certificate will not be issued until the bribe is paid.
Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and on Tuesday, taking a bribe amount inside the CGST West Mumbai office, he caught the two accused red handed.
The bribe amount was recovered from his possession. After the arrest, searched at the offices and houses of both officers, during which several objectionable documents were also seized.
A CBI spokesperson said the two officers were detained for questioning and will later be produced in a competent court in Mumbai.
“To determine whether other officers were involved in the bribery racket and further investigation is underway to detect possible relations with similar cases,” the official said.
The agency reiterated its zero-optionalism policy towards corruption in government departments and urged the citizens to report any case through its dedicated helpline and online portal.
A few days ago, in its action on bribery in government offices, the CBI arrested two separate cases of bribery and two senior government officials of a railway hospital in two separate cases of bribery.
-IANS
SKP/CEO