LUCKNOW, Jan. 1 -- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a deputy commissioner of IRS rank, two superintendents, an advocate and a private company owner in connection with a major bribery racket in the office of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) in Jhansi, the agency said on Wednesday. The officials allegedly took bribes to favour firms in GST evasion cases, the note said, adding the arrests were made following a trap operation carried out on Tuesday. According to the CBI press note, the accused officials had allegedly demanded an undue advantage of Rs.1.5 crore from private firms in exchange for favourable action in ongoing GST evasion matters. During the operation, two superintendents posted at CGST Jhansi were caught red-handed accepting Rs.70 lakh as part of the bribe, allegedly at the behest of the deputy commissioner. The CBI officials confirmed that those arrested include Prabha Bhandari, an IRS (Customs & Indirect Taxes) officer of the 2016 batch currently posted as deputy commissioner at CGST Jhansi; Anil Tiwari and Ajay Kumar Sharma, both superintendents at the same office; Raju Mangtani, owner of M/s Jai Durga Hardware; and Naresh Kumar Gupta, an advocate. "Following the arrests, the CBI conducted searches at multiple locations, recovering approximately Rs.90 lakh in cash, along with substantial quantities of jewellery, bullion and several property-related documents. The total cash seized, so far, stands at around Rs.1.6 crore," the agency said, adding that searches were still underway. The CBI has registered the case against the accused and others under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. All the arrested persons will be produced before the jurisdictional court after medical examination. Further investigation is ongoing to identify other beneficiaries and trace the full extent of the alleged bribery network, officials said....