CGST inspector 2 middlemen held for demanding bribe to not make arrest CBI

New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) The CBI has arrested a CGST inspector and two middlemen from Jaipur in connection with Rs 10 lakh bribery case in which an Indian Revenue Service officer has also been named as a suspect, officials said Friday.
     The agency arrested Inspector Ankit Aswal and two middlemen Sonu and Ashok who were allegedly involved in the exchange of bribe money, they said.
     An FIR was registered on the allegation that the officer was demanding a bribe to not arrest the complainant in a case that he was probing. The CBI has also named IRS CGST Sandeep Payal as an accused in the case, they said.
     "A case was registered on a complaint against an Inspector, CGST, Jaipur and others. It was alleged that the said bribe was demanded for resolving a pending matter with CGST, Jaipur," CBI spokesperson said in a statement.
     According to officials, Aswal is accused to have been part of a team that had razed the complainant's premises in 2021. The inspector was allegedly threatening the complainant with the arrest if his demand for bribe was not met, they said.
     Aswal, currently serving as Preventive Officer, Jaipur, had allegedly claimed that the bribe was for him and Sandeep Payal and was to be routed through a Jaipur-based jeweller, officials said.
     They said Aswal had allegedly asked the complainant to make the payment to the jeweller else he could be arrested in the tax case.
     The CBI had recorded the calls in the presence of independent witnesses where the demand for the bribe was made, they said.
     "The CBI team laid a trap and caught a middleman while accepting a bribe of Rs. 10 Lakh on behalf of the said inspector," the spokesperson said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)