The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested five people, including a woman IRS officer, in a major bribery case linked to GST evasion in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. Those arrested include Central GST Deputy Commissioner Prabha Bhandari, two GST superintendents, a GST lawyer, and a private businessman.
According to the CBI, the accused allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹1.5 crore from a private firm in exchange for providing relief in a GST evasion case. The agency laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed while accepting ₹70 lakh as part of the deal.
The two arrested GST superintendents have been identified as Anil Tiwari and Ajay Kumar Sharma. The other accused include GST lawyer Naresh Kumar Gupta and Raju Mangnani, proprietor of Jay Durga Hardware. The arrests were made following coordinated raids at multiple locations in Jhansi.
During searches, the CBI recovered ₹1.60 crore in cash, along with jewellery and property-related documents. Officials said the accused were allegedly running a bribery racket to shield firms involved in tax evasion.
