GST Official absconds with Rs.25 lakh Bribe; CBI Register the Case

The Anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Dhirendra Kumar, Superintendent of the Central GST’s Anti-Eviction Wing, and two others on Friday for escaping with bribe money worth Rs.25 lakh.

Dhirendra Kumar was based in Mumbai and accepted the bribe from a detained gold trader. Amrutlal Shankhala and Baban are the other two accused.

The CBI is looking for all three suspects. The CBI probe, which began approximately 15 days ago, is perceived as a conflict between GST and CBI personnel.

The issue involves a FIR filed on April 20 by businessman Jitendra Lunawat on behalf of his close friend Arpit Jagetia, who was allegedly detained by Central GST authorities for questioning.

During the investigation, Dhirendra Kumar allegedly requested a bribe of Rs 1 crore from Jagetia, and he was also harassed in detention for 6 to 7 hours.

Jagetia deals in the sale and purchase of gold, and has a case against him in the Central GST, regarding irregularities in transactions between Shree Bullion and some other companies in the bullion market.

As alleged by the complainant, Dhirendra Kumar took Jagetia “forcefully” into custody from Sarafa Bazar in the Kalba Devi area on April 20. The FIR claimed that after over 6 to 7 hours of questioning, Dhirendra Kumar threatened to put Jagetia in prison and asked him to pay Rs 1 crore if he wanted to avoid jail.

According to Lunawat, Jagetia contacted him about 8 p.m. on the same day and told him about the entire episode. In an attempt to assist his friend, Lunawat told the official that Rs 1 crore was too much and would be difficult to arrange so fast, and after a lengthy negotiation, he was able to reduce it to Rs 25 lakhs.

Lunawat recorded the entire conversation, which he later used as proof in his complaint. Lunawat then went to the Central GST office in Churchgate with Rs 25 lakh in cash to free his friend on the same day, as Dhirendra Kumar had requested.

However, before entering the GST office, a random bike rider stole the bag of cash from Lunawat’s hands and left. The CBI later identified this unidentified biker as Amrutlal Shankhala based on CCTV footage. When he was tracked down, he was discovered to have been missing from his home since January 20.

Shankhala owns a jewellery store in Antop Hill and was discovered to be a close associate of Dhirendra Kumar during an investigation. Another employee at his shop, named as Baban, had also fled along with Dhirendra Kumar. The CBI is now attempting to apprehend all three defendants in the case.

As part of their investigation, CBI agents searched the homes of two GST inspectors who live in the same building as Dhirendra Kumar. Brijesh Singh, one of them, attempted to flee his house as CBI inspectors arrived, and later indicated that he ran to protect himself from probable harassment by officials.

The probe, which has been ongoing for nearly 15 days, is being interpreted as a conflict between GST and CBI personnel.