The CBI has arrested two IRS officers—Additional Commissioner Mr. Deepak Kumar Sharma from Mumbai and Joint Commissioner Mr. Rahul Kumar from Guwahati—along with three CGST superintendents in connection with a bribery case. The officials, arrested last week, are accused of detaining a businessman for 18 hours and accepting a bribe of Rs. 50 lakh. The senior officers allegedly facilitated the transaction and managed the payment process.
While most of the accused have been remanded to jail custody, Rahul Kumar was released on bail after a court found his arrest to be illegal due to procedural errors. Previously, in September, the CBI arrested another superintendent along with a chartered accountant and a consultant for accepting a partial bribe in this case.
The CBI conducted searches on all officers involved, except for Officer Rahul Kumar, who was stationed in Guwahati. They seized mobile phones from the officers, including Officer Deepak Kumar Sharma, which provided evidence of their involvement in the bribery scheme. These arrests were made following the necessary approvals from relevant departments.
According to the complaint, CGST Superintendent Mr. Sachin Gokulka and the other three GST superintendents— Mr. Nitin Kumar Gupta, Mr. Nikhil Agrawal, and Mr. Bijender Janawa—detained a Goregaon businessman for 18 hours on September 4th. They threatened to arrest him if he did not pay Rs. 60 lakh, a demand reduced from the original Rs. 50 lakh to settle an issue involving a pharmaceutical company. Subsequently, a relative of the businessman contacted IRS Rahul Kumar, who had previously worked in the office, and he coordinated with IRS Deepak Kumar Sharma to facilitate the businessman’s release in exchange for the bribe. Chartered Accountant Raj Aggarwal was involved in handling the bribe transactions on behalf of the officers.
