The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three accused including a Superintendent of CGST (Anti-Evasion), Mumbai West Commissionerate and two private persons- one of them a Chartered Accountant (CA), during the trap proceedings, while accepting part bribe amount of Rs 20 lakh, out of the negotiated undue advantage of Rs 60 lakh demanded as bribe. An amount of Rs 30 lakh of the total bribe amount was allegedly paid earlier through hawala, agency officials said on Sunday.
Those named in the FIR have been identified as Additional Commissioner, CGST Commissionerate, Mumbai West Deepak Kumar Sharma, CGST Superintendents Sachin Gokulka, Bijender Janawa, Nikhil Agrawal, Nitin Kumar Gupta, Joint Commissioner CGST Rahul Kumar, Chartered Accountant Raj Aggarwal and one Abhishek Mehta (Private Person). Those arrested by the CBI are Sachin Gokulka, Raj Aggarwal and Abhishek Mehta.
The CBI had registered a case on a complaint against eight accused including six officers of CGST from a Goregaon resident alleging therein demand of bribe of Rs 60 lakhs by Sachin Gokulka and other CGST officers through middlemen Raj Aggarwal, for settling the matter of a pharma company pending with Gokulka.
"It was alleged that when the complainant visited CGST Office at Santacruz in the evening of 04.09.2024, he was kept confined in the office whole night and released after about 18 hours on 05.09.2024. It was also alleged that during the complainant's confinement, one of the accused Superintendent CGST (bribe receiver) demanded Rs 80 lakh bribe for not arresting him which was subsequently reduced to Rs 60 lakhs. Further, it was alleged that three other colleagues of said Superintendent (all Superintendents of CGST) also joined him in pressurising the complainant including through repeated use of force and hurling abuses," said a CBI official.
"The complainant was, allegedly, made to call his cousin while in confinement, to convey the demand of undue advantage by CGST officers for not arresting the complainant and favouring him in the ongoing probe by CGST. It was also alleged that the cousin of the complainant subsequently contacted an accused CA who further contacted other accused private person and senior CGST officers including accused JC, CGST. Both accused CA and other accused private person visited the CGST office during the intervening night and negotiated the bribe with CGST officials. It was also alleged that the bribe demand was finalized for an amount of Rs 60 lakhs to be delivered to CGST officers through accused CA. Out of a negotiated bribe of Rs 60 lakhs, Rs 30 lakhs was allegedly paid by the cousin of the complainant through an Angadia. Further, it was alleged that only then the complainant was allowed to leave CGST office, the next day," the official further said.
The CBI team laid a trap and caught accused CA red-handed while accepting an amount of Rs 20 lakh on behalf of CGST officers, out of the remaining bribe amount. "Further, controlled bribe delivery was done to trap the other accused private person who was to further deliver the bribe to CGST officers through the accused Superintendent CGST(bribe receiver). During further trap proceedings, accused Superintendent CGST(bribe receiver) called the other accused private person to meet him near Oshiwara Police Station to collect a bribe amount. Thereafter, said accused Superintendent CGST was also apprehended by the CBI team," the official said.
The CBI arrested all the aforesaid three accused involved in accepting bribe during trap proceedings. They were produced before the Special Court for CBI Cases, Mumbai. The Court granted CBI Custody of arrested Superintendent CGST and CA till 10.09.2024, while the arrested private person has been sent to judicial custody. Searches were conducted at 09 locations at the official and residential premises of accused persons in and around Mumbai which led to recovery of various incriminating documents.
