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CBI Arrests Absconding CGST Officer in ₹40 Lakh Bribery Case
The CBI is investigating a case involving an alleged bribe connected to a tax matter.
Officials say the bribe demand began at ₹1.5 crore and was reduced to ₹40 lakh.
A customs agent was allegedly caught accepting the money for two CGST officers.
The officers named in the case are Rakesh Kumar Sinha and Vinay Kumar Kantheti.
All three accused were initially taken to court.
A lower court released them after saying the arrests were illegal.
The Bombay High Court later disagreed and ordered two days of CBI custody.
Sinha and the customs agent followed that order and were later sent to judicial custody.
Kantheti allegedly stayed away, so the CBI traced and arrested him in Rishikesh.
The CBI arrested Raigad CGST Additional Commissioner Vinay Kumar Kantheti in Rishikesh after he allegedly failed to comply with a Bombay High Court custody order.
The case concerns an alleged demand for ₹1.5 crore, later reduced to ₹40 lakh, in connection with a complainant’s GST and royalty matter.
The CBI allegedly caught Customs House Agent Narinder Rajput accepting ₹40 lakh on behalf of CGST Superintendent Rakesh Kumar Sinha and Kantheti.
A Special CBI Court initially rejected five days of police custody, declared the arrests illegal and released the accused on bail.
The Bombay High Court later overturned that order, granted the CBI two days of custody and found that arrest grounds and required notifications had been properly communicated.
- Who
- The CBI, CGST officers Rakesh Kumar Sinha and Vinay Kumar Kantheti, and Customs House Agent Narinder Rajput.
- What
- The CBI arrested Kantheti in an alleged ₹40 lakh bribery case involving a demand initially set at ₹1.5 crore.
- Where
- The case concerns CGST operations in Raigad and Khandeshwar; Kantheti was traced and arrested in Rishikesh, and proceedings took place in Thane and before the Bombay High Court.
- When
- The CBI registered the case on August 26, conducted the trap on August 27, and arrested Kantheti after the Bombay High Court's September 16 order.
- Why
- The alleged bribe was sought to settle a GST and royalty matter involving the complainant's stone-quarrying firm.
Special CBI Court's Initial Ruling
Bombay High Court's Ruling
Legality of arrests
Special CBI Court's Initial Ruling
The Special CBI Court rejected the request for five days of police custody, held the arrests illegal and released the accused on bail.
Bombay High Court's Ruling
The Bombay High Court overturned that order, finding that the grounds of arrest had been communicated in writing and that relevant family members and advocates had been informed.
Custody of the accused
Special CBI Court's Initial Ruling
The lower court did not grant the CBI's requested five-day custodial interrogation.
Bombay High Court's Ruling
The High Court remanded the accused to two days of CBI custody; Sinha and Rajput were later sent to 14 days of judicial custody.
Key facts
- Investigating agency
- Central Bureau of Investigation, Mumbai Anti-Corruption Branch
- Case registration
- August 26 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act
- Alleged demand
- ₹1.5 crore, later reduced to ₹40 lakh
- Trap date
- August 27
- Alleged recipient
- Customs House Agent Narinder Rajput
- High Court custody
- Two days of CBI custody
- Kantheti's arrest location
- Rishikesh
Quotes
A CBI official
An official of the Central Bureau of Investigation who described Kantheti’s detention.
“However, the accused Additional Commissioner Kantheti was absconding instead of complying with the Hon’ble High Court order. He has now been traced in Rishikesh and taken into custody by CBI.”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
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