Bhubaneswar: The Vigilance Department arrested Binay Bhusan Tripathy, Assistant Commissioner of the CT & GST Enforcement Unit in Jajpur Road, Jajpur, along with two private persons, on charges of bribery, tax evasion, and causing financial loss to the government.
Tripathy had demanded a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh from the owner of a goods vehicle carrying scrap worth Rs 8,89,600. When the bribe was not paid, Tripathy allegedly sold the scrap to another dealer, realizing only nominal tax and misappropriating approximately Rs 5,85,356.
The probe revealed that Tripathy had collected substantial bribes from various transporters and suppliers, flouting GST rules and norms. It was also found that he had deposited these bribes in the bank accounts of his family members, which were then converted to fixed deposits.
In addition to Tripathy, Jyoti Pattnaik and Md. Golam Sad was also arrested for conspiring with the Assistant Commissioner. Pattnaik had falsely claimed ownership of the goods, while Sad received the scrap.
A case has been registered at the Cuttack Vigilance, and further investigation is on.
The vigilance sleuths seized evidence, including account passbooks, from the possession of the Assistant Commissioner.
