Senior Karnataka GST Officer Caught Red-Handed While Allegedly Accepting Bribe of Rs 6 Lakh

In connection with a GST fraud, Karnataka Lokayukta officials have apprehended a senior Commercial Tax officer named Bharath Kumar Hegde (48 years old), employed in the role of Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Tax (GST), for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 6 lakh.

The arrest has taken place in a major anti-corruption operation conducted by the Lokayukta. As per the GST officials, initially, the complainant, Vishwajeet Nayak, aged 53 years, was sent a notice raising the allegation that he had evaded GST amounting to Rs 60 lakh.

The senior GST officer demanded Rs 10 lakh to settle the matter; the demand was fixed at Rs 6 lakh after deep negotiation. The complainant thereafter filed a complaint against the officer.

The IPS officer Shiv Prakash Devaraj, Superintendent of Police, Lokayukta Bengaluru, planned a trap to catch the accused officer red-handed while accepting the bribe amount. The trap worked, and the accused was successfully caught red-handed.

The officials of Lokayukta have affirmed that further investigation into the matter is ongoing; the officials are further searching for evidence to uncover the entire alleged corruption. The case was registered under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, following the arrest.