The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken a CGST superintendent and an alleged bribe agent into custody in a Rs 40 lakh bribery case after the Bombay High Court overturned a lower court order that had declared their arrests illegal, while the agency searches for senior IRS officer Vinay Kumar Kantheti.
The CBI arrested CGST superintendent Rakesh Kumar Sinha and Narinder Rajput on Wednesday, following the High Court’s order. Kantheti, an additional commissioner of Central Goods and Services Tax, was also named as an accused in the case, but the agency said he was untraceable after searches at his home and office.
The case concerns an alleged demand for money from a representative of a stone-quarrying firm in connection with a GST and royalty matter. According to the CBI, the officials initially demanded Rs 1.5 crore. The agency said it verified the complaint before registering a case, after which the alleged demand was reduced to Rs 40 lakh.
The CBI has alleged that Sinha and Kantheti were involved in seeking the payment to settle the company’s GST issue. Sinha allegedly negotiated the amount, while Rajput was accused of accepting the money on behalf of the officials. The allegations have not been tested at trial.
The arrests were first made on August 27, but a special CBI court subsequently released the accused on bail after ruling that their arrests were illegal because they had not been informed of the grounds for arrest. The CBI challenged that decision before the Bombay High Court.
The High Court, after examining the record, found that the grounds of arrest had been communicated to the accused and that their family members and advocates had been informed, according to the CBI. It then allowed the agency’s revision petition and quashed the special court’s order.
In a statement issued after the High Court decision, the CBI said, “Pursuant to the High Court order, Rakesh Kumar Sinha and Narinder Rajput have been taken into CBI custody for custodial interrogation. Efforts are being made to trace and apprehend Vinay Kumar Kantheti, Additional Commissioner, CGST, in accordance with law.”
The High Court remanded Sinha and Rajput to two days of CBI custody for custodial interrogation. The order restores the agency’s immediate investigative authority over the two accused, while efforts to locate Kantheti continue. The case also places scrutiny on how tax and royalty disputes involving businesses in the construction-material supply chain are handled by enforcement officials.
