2 GST, 1 Customs Superintendent held by CBI in bribe case

New Delhi, June 6 (IANS) Two GST Superintendents and one Customs Superintendents have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in two different cases of bribery, officials said on Monday.

In the first case, the CBI arrested GST Superintendents Madhusudhana Kavadiki and Ananth Narhari, posted in Karnataka's Ballari, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 80,000.

A CBI official said that a case was registered on the complaint against a Superintendent working in the Office of Deputy Commissioner, Central Tax, GST Division, Ballari and unknown others. It was alleged that the official was demanding a Rs 1 lakh bribe for closing the file of the complainant in connection with delay in GST payment.

The amount was negotiated and it was reduced to Rs 80,000. The CBI lodged an FIR and formed a team to arrest the accused in the matter.

"We laid a trap and caught the accused while demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 80,000 from the complainant. The other Superintendent was also caught during the trap," the CBI official said.

The CBI team later conducted search operations at the residential and official premises of the accused.

Meanwhile in another case, the CBI arrested a Superintendent of Customs, posted in Bengaluru for demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 8,500 from a man.

The CBI registered a case on the complaint against the Superindendent of Customs, Bengaluru, Shashikant Machindra Deshmukh, and others.

It was alleged that they were demanding bribe for clearance of shipments imported by the him.

The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused while demanding and accepting the bribe.

"Searches were conducted at the premises of accused at Bengaluru which led to recovery of incriminating documents," the official said.

Investigations in both the matters are on.