CBI arrests CGST official in Mumbai for Rs 15 lakh bribe demand

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The CBI has arrested a CGST official in Mumbai for allegedly demanding Rs 15 lakh as a bribe for settling tax issues related to a company based in China, officials said Friday.

It is alleged that Hemant Kumar, a Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) superintendent, had demanded Rs 30 lakh from a tax consultant to settle issues related to Wellfull Inter-Trade Pvt Ltd based in Guangzhou, China, they said.

The company had refused to pay the bribe and asked the middleman to report the issue to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which conducted a verification of the allegation during which the tax consultant was asked to negotiate with Kumar, they said.

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A meeting took place at Wadala Railway Station in Mumbai where Kumar allegedly reduced the demand to Rs 15 lakh, a discussion which was tapped by the consultant, they said.

With the allegations verified, the CBI conducted a trap operation where Kumar was arrested with Rs 5 lakh as part of payment, they said.

Meanwhile, an offence has been registered against a man for allegedly threatening a group of porters at gunpoint and preventing them from working at a construction site in Maharashtra's Thane city, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Wednesday when the accused Yatish Murlidhar Bhoir accompanied by a few locals went to a construction site in Ghodbunder Road and threatened porters engaged in loading and unloading materials, an official said.

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The accused allegedly wielded a revolver and threatened to shoot the porters if they did not stop working, he said.

An offence under sections 352 (assault or use of criminal force) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act has been registered against Bhoir, the official from Kapurbawdi police station said.

The accused had also similarly threatened porters working at a construction site in May, as he wanted locals to be engaged for the work, he added. (Agencies)