HYDERABAD: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested tainted former GST Assistant Commissioner Bollineni Srinivasa Gandhi in a disproportionate assets case. Gandhi had investigated several high profile cases, including the quid pro quo case involving Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and the GST fraud involving Rajya Sabha MP Sujana Chowdhary.
It was learnt that the arrest comes after Gandhi failed to appear before CBI officials for questioning in connection with the cases against him. He will be produced before the Special Court for CBI cases, the officials confirmed.
The CBI had booked Gandhi, who was then working as a Superintendent in the Anti Evasion Wing of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Hyderabad, for amassing properties illegally. Inquiries revealed he had invested huge sums of money to purchase open plots and agriculture lands in Amaravathi, Andhra Pradesh, and its surrounding areas, after the bifurcation of the erstwhile State.
Gandhi, who had also worked at the Enforcement Directorate (ED), had invested his ill-gotten money to purchase open plots and agriculture lands with an idea that the value of the land would only go up in future.In 2014, he obtained 2.96 acres of land in Tarigoppula village in the capital region, in the name of his daughter B Sai Manaswitha. He also bought land admeasuring 0.42 cents at Mandadam village of Thullur mandal in Guntur district in his father B Narasimha Rao’s name.
Investigations revealed that Gandhi, along with then deputy commissioner of Central Taxes of Hyderabad GST office Ch Sudha Rani, had registered cases against several reputed companies citing non-filing of GST, and then collected huge amounts of bribe from them.
Further, to evade the scrutiny of the Vigilance Department, the duo sought bribes in the form of immovable assets, such as open plots and agriculture lands, from the managements of different companies. Even during the lockdown, the accused officers were allegedly busy collecting ‘mamools’ from several companies. The Union Finance Ministry, which received a tip-off about their activities, ordered an internal inquiry in March, 2020, which brought into light the illegal activities of the accused.
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The arrest comes after Gandhi failed to appear before CBI officials for questioning in connection with the cases against him