5 GST Officials arrested for demanding bribe of Rs. 5 crore from a Ghaziabad Businessman

Ghaziabad police filed a FIR on Saturday against five officers from the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs. 5 crore from a Ghaziabad businessman.

The officials, who have been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, were assigned to the DGGI Gurugram office.

ACP Kavinagar Abhishek Srivastava stated that the incident is being examined, the plaintiff’s statement is still to be recorded, and legal action would be done based on the evidence.

Complainant Arun Kumar Som, director of SKS Electricals, claimed that the GST team searched his company’s office in Ghaziabad on July 5, 2022, on suspicions of GST violations. One of the directors was arrested without a warrant.

Som also said that the officials demanded a bribe of Rs. 5 crore to ‘settle’ the case and threatened him with jail if he did not pay. He claimed that he paid Rs. 2.35 crore over a month ‘because of fear’, but the police kept demanding for more money, claiming that ‘the money will be dispersed among the top officials’.

Som, 55, a resident of Ghaziabad’s Bulandshahr Road Industrial Area, approached the police and filed a complaint, but no FIR was issued. He also submitted an application with the Police Commissionerate office, and after receiving no action, he petitioned the court under CrPC 156 (3), requesting the registration of a FIR against GST personnel.

Following the court decision, the Ghaziabad police have launched a FIR under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

According to Complainant, “During the raid, they confiscated all of the firm’s computers, hard discs, and arrested company director Prem Singh, who was granted release after two months. I visited the DGGI’s Gurugram office multiple times, but they only talked about mending the money and threw away the corporate paperwork. When I expressed my inability to give five crores, they suggested that I give one crore, adding that ‘I am not taking this money alone, but it would be dispersed among all officers up to the top.’ Fearing a danger, I spoke with my colleagues, arranged for Rs. 50 lakh, and went to Bengali Market in Delhi on July 27, 2022 to pay it.”

He further said. “But as soon as they received the money, they started calling again, demanding Rs. 4.5 crore more and threatening to send me to jail. I was afraid of going to jail and being a social outcast, so I gave one crore rupees in front of the DGGI Gurugram office on 4.08.2022 and Rs. 75 lakh on 12.08.2022 at the NSC Club in Pragati Maidan, Delhi.”

In January 2023, Arun Kumar Som received a call from another officer who stated that he was the new investigating officer in the case and allegedly requested an additional Rs. 50 lakh.

“I somehow arranged for Rs. 10 lakh and provided it to him, but he continued threatening that if you didn’t know me, I’d ruin your life. After that, I filed a complaint with the police, but they took no action,” he said.