Gurugram, Jan. 11 -- The court of additional sessions judge Sunil Diwan has convicted two officers and a clerk of the Haryana excise and taxation department in a bribery case and sentenced them to five-year jail, besides imposing a fine of Rs.1 lakh on each. The officials were arrested by a team of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Karnal on May 9, 2022, while accepting bribe in exchange for issuing a GST number. Later, the clerk was also arrested and an FIR was registered at ACB, Faridabad police station. According to the ACB, in May 2022, a building material supplier, Mohit, applied to the department for a GST number to start his business in Faridabad.When the file reached excise and taxation officer (ETO) Roshan Lal, he rejected it citing deficiencies. When he applied again, he was asked to meet excise and taxation inspector Sumitra Godara posted in Gurugram. Mohit, in his complaint to ACB, alleged that Godara demanded a bribe of Rs.7 lakh to issue a GST number. A senior ACB official said after receiving the complaint, the ACB team laid a trap and arrested accused Godara on May 9, 2022, after she was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs.2 lakh as advance. The ACB team also nabbed ETO Roshan Lal and clerk Pawan from Faridabad, who were later granted bail. According to the ACB, Roshan Lal was posted at the Rohtak office, while Godara was suspended. The accused have been sent to judicial custody. A senior official of the department headquarters said the department was studying the court's decision and further departmental action will be initiated soon against the convicts....