Advocate nabbed for taking bribe ‘on behalf of tax official’ posted in Chandigarh

New Delhi, September 30

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an advocate on the allegations of demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs80,000 on behalf of an Assistant Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), posted in Chandigarh.

Officials in the agency said the CBI had registered a case against Rajiv Kumar Meherwal, Assistant Commissioner, CGST, Chandigarh, and Sunil Arora, an advocate, on a complaint it received recently.

Based on the complaint, the officials said, the CBI laid a trap and caught Arora while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs80,000. Later, searches were conducted on the premises of both the lawyer and the official in Panchkula, Delhi and Chandigarh, which led to the recovery of incriminating documents, they added.

The complainant alleged that his firm was allotted a tender pertaining to the water supply and sanitation work by the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, and the work was exempted from service tax as per a notification of the Government of India, the officials said.

“It was further alleged that the complainant received a demand notice from the CGST, Chandigarh, advising him to pay service tax of Rs11,44,898. The complainant alleged that the advocate demanded a bribe of Rs1 lakh from him for getting his matter settled. It was also alleged that the advocate demanded money at the behest of the Assistant Commissioner and subsequently, even the official asked the complainant to deliver the bribe amount of Rs80,000 to the advocate,” said a senior CBI official. —TNS