IRS Officer Arrested as Bribe Kingpin: CBI Busts ₹1.5 Crore GST Extortion Racket in Jhansi

The Times Patriot

In a major corruption case in Jhansi, Central GST Deputy Commissioner and IRS officer Prabha Bhandari has been arrested by the CBI for allegedly masterminding a ₹1.5 crore bribery racket. The arrest followed the CBI catching two GST superintendents red-handed while accepting a ₹70 lakh bribe.  The CBI trapped GST Superintendents Anil Tiwari and Ajay Kumar Sharma while they were receiving the first instalment of ₹70 lakh. During interrogation, both officers disclosed that the bribe was being collected at the direction of Deputy Commissioner Prabha Bhandari. They told investigators that the total deal was fixed at ₹1.5 crore.  In a recorded call arranged by the CBI, the superintendent informed Prabha Bhandari that ₹70 lakh had been received. She allegedly instructed him to convert the cash into gold and deliver it to her. At the time, Prabha Bhandari was in Delhi, where a CBI team later arrested her.  Simultaneously, the CBI conducted raids at her Jhansi flat, seizing cash, gold, silver, and property-related documents. Around ₹90 lakh in additional cash was recovered during searches. Prabha Bhandari’s husband is a serving Army Colonel.  The case is linked to a raid conducted on December 19 at Jai Durga Hardware in Jhokan Bagh, Jhansi, over alleged GST evasion amounting to ₹13 crore. It is alleged that GST officials demanded ₹1.5 crore to settle the case. Firm owner Raju Mangnani and lawyer Naresh Kumar Gupta were also arrested in connection with the bribery case.  Overall, cash worth about ₹1.6 crore, along with jewellery and documents, has been recovered so far. Prabha Bhandari was produced before a Ghaziabad court and later taken to Lucknow on remand. The other accused were produced before a Jhansi court and sent to Lucknow. Further investigation is underway.  #Jhansi #CBIAction #GSTScam #CorruptionCase #IRSOfficer #BriberyRacket #UttarPradesh #BreakingNews

Transcript

00:00A major bribery scandal has surfaced in Jhansi, exposing senior officers of the Central GST Department.

00:06CBI investigations have revealed that Central GST Deputy Commissioner Prabha Bhandari,

00:11an IRS officer, was the alleged mastermind behind the bribery racket.

00:15The case came to light after the CBI caught two GST superintendents red-handed while accepting a bribe of 70 lakh.

00:21During interrogation, both officers disclosed that the deal of 1.5 crore was struck on the instructions of Madam.

00:27On the CBI's direction, one superintendent called Prabha Bhandari and informed her that 70 lakh had been received.

00:33She allegedly replied, convert it into gold and give it to me.

00:37The call was recorded.

00:39Prabha Bhandari was arrested in Delhi, while her flat in Jhansi was searched for nearly four hours.

00:44The CBI seized cash, gold, silver and property documents.

00:48She was later produced in court and taken to Lucknow on remand.

00:51The case is linked to a raid conducted on Jai Durga Hardware on December 19th,

00:56where GST officials allegedly demanded 1.5 crore to settle a tax evasion case.

01:02So far, five people have been arrested and over 1.6 crore in cash has been recovered.

01:07The CBI says further investigation is ongoing and more disclosures are expected.

01:11The CBI says further investigation is ongoing and more disclosures are expected.

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