CBI files chargesheet against CGST officer in bribery case

Chandigarh, May 27

The CBI has filed a chargesheet against Assistant Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), Rajiv Kumar Meherwal, and an advocate, Sunil Arora, who have been booked by the CBI in a bribery case last year. Senior public prosecutor PK Dogra has filed the charge sheet before the CBI court.

The CBI had arrested Arora for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 80,000 allegedly on behalf of Meherwal in September 2021 from the owner of a private firm, which was allotted a tender for water meter reading, connection, disconnection and sanitation work, etc, in the city by the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.

The case was registered against the accused for the offences punishable under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 120 B of the IPC.

According to the CBI, the works were exempted from service tax as per a notification of the government but the complainant received a demand notice from the CGST, Chandigarh, in May 2020 advising him to pay service tax of Rs 11,44,898. In his complaint, the firm owner alleged that he got calls from an advocate who said the Assistant Commissioner was demanding Rs 1 lakh as bribe, otherwise he would not settle the case and would impose a heavy penalty.

After receiving the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and recorded the conversation between the complainant and the accused. The complainant alleged that a meeting was also arranged in the office of the CGST officer where he showed the bribe amount of Rs 80,000 on his mobile calculator to the officer. When his father asked about handing over the bribe amount, the officer allegedly directed by the gesture of his hand to hand over it to Arora.