Jind Bribery Trap: GST Officer, CA Arrested Over Rs 5 Lakh Bribe Demand:

The Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV & ACB) on Thursday arrested a State GST Enforcement and Taxation Officer (ETO) and a chartered accountant (CA) from Jind for allegedly accepting a bribe in connection with a pending tax notice.

The accused have been identified as ETO Divesh Sahu of the SGST Department and CA Ajay Sharma. The arrests were made by the bureau’s Jind unit after a trap was laid following a complaint by the proprietor of a private company.

According to officials, Sahu allegedly demanded Rs 5 lakh from the businessman to avoid strict action in a tax case. The case was related to a notice issued under Section 74 of the SGST and CGST Act, 2017, over alleged tax evasion of Rs 75 lakh.

The complaint alleged that Sahu used Sharma as a middleman to collect the bribe. The first instalment of Rs 3 lakh was to be paid on Thursday, while the remaining amount was to be paid later.

After receiving the complaint, the vigilance team verified the allegations and laid a trap. Sharma was caught accepting Rs 3 lakh at his office on Bhiwani Road in Jind. The entire bribe amount was recovered from him.

An FIR has been registered at the SV & ACB police station in Karnal under Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Both accused are being questioned, and further investigation is underway, officials said.