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CBI arrests Chandigarh lawyer for accepting ₹80,000 bribe
Hunt on for assistant commissioner of Central Goods and Services Tax, Chandigarh, at whose behest the bribe amount was sought from a firm
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested an advocate while accepting a bribe of ₹80,000 at the behest of an assistant commissioner of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), Chandigarh.
The accused lawyer was identified as Sunil Arora, a resident Panchkula. Further probe is underway to arrest Rajiv Kumar, alias Rajiv Kumar Meherwal, assistant commissioner, CGST, Chandigarh.
According to CBI, the complainant stated that their firm was allotted a tender for water supply and sanitation work by the Chandigarh municipal corporation, and the said works were exempted from service tax as per a central government notification.
But the firm received a demand notice from CGST, Chandigarh, for service tax dues worth ₹11,44,898.
The complainant alleged that Sunil Arora informed him that Rajiv Kumar could get the matter settled in exchange for ₹1 lakh.
Investigators said a deal was settled at ₹80,000 and Rajiv asked the complainant to deliver the bribe amount to Sunil.
The complainant instead approached CBI that laid a trap and caught Sunil red-handed while accepting the bribe in Panchkula.
Following the arrest, CBI carried out searches at the premises of both accused in Panchkula, Delhi and Chandigarh, and is said to have recovered incriminating documents that are being scrutinised.
Both accused have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act and efforts are on to arrest Rajiv.
Sunil was produced before a court on Thursday and sent to one-day police remand.
Crackdown on corruption
September 17, 2021: CBI arrested a female sub-inspector (SI) of Chandigarh Police, Sarabjit Kaur, while accepting a bribe of ₹10,000 at the Sector-34 police station
February 15: CBI arrested assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Harbhajan Singh of the Chandigarh Police for taking bribe of ₹10,000 for not registering a case against a loan defaulter
June 30, 2020: CBI booked inspector Jaswinder Kaur, SHO, Manimajra, for demanding ₹5-lakh bribe from a man to drop cheating charges against him
June 19, 2020: Three constables at the Maloya police station were suspended after being booked by CBI for trying to implicate a man in a false case
November 27, 2019: A CBI court awarded four-year jail to a former UT sub-inspector in a 2012 graft case.
