NEW DELHI, Feb. 17 -- The Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi Police has arrested a government stenographer and his private accomplice for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000.
The arrested official, Mohit Yadav, was posted at the Department of Trade & Taxes, Government of NCT of Delhi, and was caught red-handed along with his associate Chandan Kumar while demanding and accepting the bribe.
According to the officials, the bribe was sought to revoke the suspension of the complainant's Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration.
The complainant, a businessman dealing in electronic goods, had approached ACB after being asked to pay illegal gratification despite fulfilling all necessary requirements to reinstate his GST registration.
The suspension, he alleged, was done on frivolous grounds. He further claimed that the bribe was being demanded at the behest of GST Officer Arifullah Khan of Ward No. 74.
Upon receiving the complaint, ACP Devender Singh conducted a preliminary verification and informed DCP Shweta Singh Chauhan.
A trap was then laid by a team comprising senior inspectors and officers of ACB. The raiding team, accompanied by the complainant and an independent witness, reached the Department of Trade & Taxes office at Vyapar Bhawan, IP Estate, New Delhi.
As planned, the complainant met Mohit Yadav, who directed him to hand over the bribe amount to Chandan Kumar. Once the transaction took place, ACB officials apprehended both accused.
During a search of Chandan Kumar, officials recovered Rs 74,400 suspected to be bribes collected from other individuals.The accused failed to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the source of the money. The entire trap operation was conducted as per the provisions of the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, and was recorded digitally. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered at ACB Police Station, and both accused were arrested. Further investigations are ongoing to identify other officials involved in the bribery racket.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.