Anti-Corruption Bureau nabs chartered accountant, superintendent for taking Rs 10 lakh bribe

Panipat, February 10

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) team caught Pankaj Khurana, a chartered accountant (CA), and Prem Raj Meena, Central GST superintendent, for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 10.5 lakh from an export company owner for evading a GST fine.

The ACB produced the accused in the court on Saturday. It was alleged that Prem Raj Meena threatened the complainant of dire consequences for complaining against him in the court.

Karnal ACB Inspector Sachin said that they received a complaint from an industrialist, in which he alleged that the department conducted a raid in their industrial unit on February 6. The officials mounted pressure on them and said that they were not cutting GST as per the government’s policy. They said they were not cutting 12 per cent GST on goods and demanded a bribe of Rs 12 lakh from them.

The complainant gave Rs 3 lakh to the GST superintendent through CA Pankaj, but the officers were pressurising them for the remaining amount of Rs 9 lakh.

Following the complaint, a case was registered under various sections of the PC Act. A team was constituted, which caught CA Pankaj with Rs 7 lakh. Prem Raj Meena was included in the investigation and Rs 3.5 lakh was recovered from his car.