CBI Arrests CGST Additional Commissioner in ₹40 Lakh Bribery Case Brought to Thane Court
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested Vinay Kumar Kantheti, a 2009-batch Indian Revenue Service officer serving as Additional Commissioner of Central Goods and Services Tax in Raigad, in connection with a ₹40 lakh bribery case presented before the Special CBI Court in Thane.
The agency's Anti-Corruption Branch in Mumbai registered the case on August 26 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The action followed a complaint alleging illegal gratification demanded by Rakesh Kumar Sinha, a CGST Superintendent posted in Khandeshwar, Raigad.
According to the CBI, Sinha initially demanded an undue advantage of ₹1.50 crore to settle a GST and royalty matter concerning a stone-quarrying firm owned by the complainant. Following negotiations between the parties, the alleged bribe demand was brought down to ₹40 lakh.
Investigators stated that the accused public servants arranged for the money to be collected through a private person and instructed the complainant accordingly. On August 27, the CBI laid a trap and caught Narinder Rajput, a Customs House Agent, red-handed while accepting the ₹40 lakh on behalf of Sinha and Kantheti. Officials said the receipt of the bribe was subsequently acknowledged by both officials.
All three accused were arrested and produced before the Special CBI Court in Thane, where investigators sought five days of police custody. However, on August 28, the Special Court rejected the remand plea, termed the arrests illegal, and released the accused on bail.
The CBI contested the ruling before the Bombay High Court through a Criminal Revision Application. On September 16, the High Court quashed the Special Court's decision and remanded the accused to two days of CBI custody, noting that grounds of arrest had been communicated in writing and that families and legal counsel were duly notified.
Following the High Court order, Sinha and Rajput were taken into CBI custody for two days before being remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. Kantheti had absconded rather than complying with the directive, but agency officials traced him to Rishikesh and took him into custody.
