LUCKNOW: A team of Delhi unit of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Commissioner, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Central Excise, Sansar Chand along with eight others on bribery charges in Kanpur on Saturday. The IRS (Indian Revenue Services) officer of 1986 batch was booked along with his four subordinates and five private persons including his wife
by the probe agency.
The four subordinates of Chand included three GST superintendents and one office staff member. As per the sources, name of Avinash Kaur , Chand’s wife, also figured in the FIR lodged in the case by the CBI but she has not been arrested as of now. The sources further claimed that Sansar Chand used to run an organised bribery racket. The officer had allegedly assured full protection to local entrepreneurs and industrialists and immunity from paying GST if they would bribe him on regular basis. "Three superintendents used to collect the money on Chand’s behalf and the money was transferred via `hawala' to GST Commissioners wife Avinash Kaur,” the sources said.
The commissioner used to seek mobile phone, fridge, TV set as part of gratification to Kaur. The commissioner and others have been booked under section 120-B of IPC and Sections 7, 11 and 12 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The CBI sources said that the arrests were made following a number of complaints of bribery against the officer and his subordinates along with five private persons. "It was alleged in the complaints that recently, IRS officer had taken a bribe of Rs 1.5 lakh from some local businessman," CBI sources said further and added that agency has started further investigation in this regard.
Other eight accused have been identified as Aman Shah superintendent, GST and Central Excise, Ajay Srivastava, superintendent, GST and Central Excise, Rajeev Singh Chandel, superintendent, GST and Central Excise, Saurabh Pandey, office staff GST and Central Excise Commissionerate, Manish Sharma, director M/S Shishu Soap and Chemical private ltd (private individual), Amit Awasthi (private individual), Aman Jain (private individual), Chandra Prakash alias Monu (private individual).