The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on September 8th, 2023, arrested three individuals, including a superintendent from the Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST), in connection with a ₹60 lakh bribery case. The arrested individuals were identified as CGST Superintendent Sachin Gokulka, who was stationed at the anti-evasion wing in Mumbai, Chartered Accountant (CA) Raj Aggarwal, and Abhishek Mehta. The trio were apprehended while allegedly receiving a partial payment of ₹20 lakh of the bribe.
The CBI’s investigation stemmed from a complaint filed by a businessman against six CGST officials in Mumbai, including Additional Commissioner Deepak Kumar Sharma, Joint Commissioner Rahul Kumar, and four superintendents – Gokulka, Bijender Janawa, Nikhil Agrawal, and Nitin Kumar Gupta, along with Aggarwal and Mehta. The complainant alleged that on the night of September 4th, he was confined in the CGST’s Santacruz office for 18 hours before being released on September 5th. According to the complaint, Gokulka demanded a ₹80 lakh bribe to avoid his arrest, which was later reduced to ₹60 lakh.
The CBI spokesperson stated that three other colleagues of the superintendent, also CGST superintendents, allegedly joined Gokulka in pressuring the complainant, resorting to physical force and verbal abuse. The complainant was allegedly coerced into calling his cousin while in confinement to convey the demand for undue advantage from the CGST officers in exchange for not arresting him and favorable treatment in the ongoing investigation. The complainant’s cousin subsequently contacted Aggarwal, who further contacted other private individuals and senior CGST officers, including Joint Commissioner Kumar.
Aggarwal and Mehta visited the CGST office during the night and negotiated the bribe with the CGST officials, ultimately agreeing on a reduced amount of ₹60 lakh, which was to be delivered by Aggarwal. The complainant’s cousin allegedly paid ₹30 lakh of the negotiated bribe through an ‘angadia’ (hawala) before the complainant was released from the CGST office the next day.
The CBI arrested CA Aggarwal red-handed while accepting ₹20 lakh on behalf of the CGST officers, a portion of the remaining bribe amount. A controlled delivery of the bribe was orchestrated to another private individual who was to further deliver the bribe to the CGST officers through Gokulka.
During the sting operation, Gokulka called the other private individual to meet him near Mumbai’s Oshiwara Police Station to collect the bribe, where he was also arrested. All three accused were produced before the special court for CBI cases in Mumbai, where the court granted police custody of the arrested CGST Superintendent and the CA until September 10th.
The CBI conducted searches at nine locations, including the official and residential premises of the accused in and around Mumbai, leading to the recovery of incriminating documents. The agency’s investigation is ongoing.
