FIR against Assistant Commissioner of GST and 3 Others for demanding Rs.1 Crore Bribe

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case of corruption against an assistant commissioner of state GST and three other officials for allegedly demanding Rs.1 crore from a petrochem company to spare its evasion proceedings.

Dheeraj Petrochemical and Gas Ltd filed a complaint, which led to the suspension of Assistant Commissioner Arjun Suryavanshi from his service. The company submitted details of WhatsApp chats mentioning the mode of payment to support its case.

Acting on the allegation of one Dheeraj Pandey, the state government department conducted a preliminary investigation and, finding substance in the complaint, sent it to the ACB. Police said Deputy Commissioner Mohan Bagade paid a visit to Pandey’s office on 29 July and informed him that he would be arrested for a Rs.5 crore GST default. According to the FIR, Bagade directed Pandey to meet a specific demand that Suryavanshi would make public.

Suryavanshi and another officer, Sandeep Bhalerao, allegedly directed Pandey to arrange Rs.1 crore for Suryavanshi and Bagade. They allegedly wanted an additional Rs.1 crore for Suryavanshi and Bhale Rao. They threatened Pandey with arrest, according to the FIR.

The demand was then reduced to Rs. 1 crore. Bagade called Pandey and requested him to make an instant payment of Rs. 50 lakh. Pandey sought some time and filed a case against Suryavanshi, Bagade, and others. Pandey also filed a writ petition at Bombay High Court, making Suryavanshi, Bagade, and others respondents to his complaint. The Court granted a stay on Pandey’s default GST notice.