Central GST superintendent in CBI net for bribery

Rourkela: In a significant development on Thursday, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials apprehended a central GST superintendent, Amarkant Kumar, in the act of accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 from a contractor within his office premises in Civil Township.

The accused official, Amarkant Kumar, who serves as the central GST superintendent of Kaluna range, allegedly received the illegal gratification to manipulate an erroneously determined GST liability amounting to Rs 8 lakh down to Rs 3.5 lakh.

According to a statement released by the CBI, a case was registered against the errant officer after he demanded Rs 50,000 from the contractor. Following negotiations, the accused agreed to accept Rs 20,000 as the first installment of the bribe. Subsequently, officials from the anti-corruption agency set up a trap, successfully apprehending Kumar while he was in the process of accepting the illegal gratification within his office chamber. The office is located inside the building of the Rourkela Commissionerate of GST & Central Excise in Civil Township.

Upon the arrest of the accused officer, CBI officials conducted a raid on his residential premises in Civil Township. Amarkant Kumar is slated to be produced in the CBI court in Bhubaneswar on Friday to face charges related to corruption and bribery.