The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested Vinay Kumar Kantheti, Additional Commissioner of GST (IRS-2009) of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Raigad district, Rakesh Kumar Sinha, Superintendent of GST, Raigad, and Narinder Rajput (private person) in connection with an alleged ₹40-lakh bribery case in Maharashtra's Raigad district. According to the CBI's official X account, the arrests were made on August 27, following the registration of the case on August 26 after the accused superintendent allegedly demanded an undue advantage of ₹1.50 crore from a stone quarrying firm. The CBI registered the case on Wednesday against the accused Superintendent of CGST on allegations that he had demanded an undue advantage of ₹1.50 crore for settling the GST/royalty matter relating to the stone-quarrying firm of the complainant.
Following negotiations, the alleged bribe amount was reduced to ₹40 lakh, as reported by the CBI. The agency alleged that the two public servants arranged for the bribe to be collected through a private person and instructed the complainant accordingly. The CBI subsequently laid a trap and caught the private individual red-handed while accepting the ₹40 lakh on behalf of the accused officials. The acceptance of the alleged bribe was later acknowledged by both the CGST Superintendent and the Additional Commissioner, as reported by the agency. All three accused have been arrested and are being produced before the court.
Searches at the premises linked to the accused led to the recovery of cash amounting to ₹43 lakh, along with jewellery and other valuables estimated at approximately ₹90 lakh, according to the CBI. The recovery operations were conducted as part of the investigation into the alleged bribery case.
All three accused have been arrested and are being produced before the court, as confirmed by the CBI. The case involves officials of CGST, Raigad, and was registered after the accused superintendent allegedly demanded the undue advantage linked to settling the GST liability of the company. The case represents a significant enforcement action by the CBI against alleged corruption in the tax administration sector.
