Day after CBI arrested Manish Sisodia aide, GST bribery racket unearthed
New Delhi: A day after Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Gopal Krishna Madhav was arrested by the CBI in a Rs 2.26 lakh bribery case, the central agency has now revealed that they have unearthed a bribery racket within the state GST office in Delhi, alleging that several of these tax officials might be linked to the case.
Officials here said that the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday continued its raids at the ITO office of the state GST department, where the office of IAS officer Udit Prakash Rai (AGMUT:2007) was also searched. Rai is a Special Commissioner level officer and was transferred to Delhi from Andaman last year. According to the IAS officers' civil list, Rai was posted as Vice-Chairman in the Development Department of Delhi with effect from January 8.
They added that offices of several other GST officials were also searched and that other Delhi government officials are also under the agency's scanner.
As different parties tried to milk political gain after news of Madhav's arrest broke two days before polling day, Sisodia took to Twitter and said in Hindi, "I have come to know that the CBI has arrested a GST inspector taking bribe. This officer was also posted in my office as OSD. The CBI should immediately punish him severely. I have got many such corrupt officials caught in the last 5 years."
The case unfolded itself before the agency when a transporter made a complaint to the CBI, alleging that one Dheeraj Gupta had approached him to facilitate a favourable deal with GST officials, where he claimed to have "high connections". Two of the complainant's trucks were impounded by the officials and Gupta had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 3.5 lakh to get the consignment released.
Agency sleuths laid a trap for Gupta and arrested him while he was accepting Rs 2.26 lakh — the first installment of the bribe amount — on February 5.
Officials in the know said that Gupta had claimed the bribe amount was meant for Gopal Krishna Madhav, who was also working in the GST office, with additional charge as OSD to the Deputy Chief Minister in Delhi.
The CBI arrested Madhav the next day and conducted searches at his offices and residence in Rohini from where officials said they recovered several property papers. "The documents are being analysed to see whose properties these are," one agency official said. However, these documents led the agency to Rai and other officials, pointing towards an alleged bribery racket. Sources in the know added that the complainant had earlier also gotten one of his consignments released by allegedly paying a bribe amount.
Madhav has been serving as OSD to Sisodia since February, 2015 and was posted in the GST office in October last year. A promotee DANICS officer, Madhav was first selected in 2003 and served as Head Clerk in the Education Department from 2003-05.
He also served as an Inspector in the Food and Supply Department for four years and was also Head Clerk in the Payments and Accounts office for a while.
Agency officials said that the arrested accused will be produced before a Delhi court for their remand hearing.
They also clarified that so far, only Gupta and Madhav have been named as accused
in the case and that further investigation would reveal more details.
