'First time in history': Maharashtra GST department announces dismissal of three officials through newspaper ad

The Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax department in a rare move issued a newspaper advertisement announcing the dismissal of three GST inspectors from service for their involvement in a fake raid on a trader, an official has said.

The officers were dismissed after it was confirmed they were involved in a fake raid and decamped with ₹11 lakh from a leading trader.

A senior state official said that in the run-up to the dismissal of three GST inspectors- Hitesh Vasaikar, Machindra Kangane, and Prakash Shegar- a probe revealed that they had conducted a fake raid on the premises of a leading trader and left with ₹11 lakh cash.

He said the motive behind making the action public was to protect the image of the GST department.

On June 14, 2021, the three inspectors investigated the premises of a businessman in Kalbadevi. On September 17, 2021, the LT Marg police arrested three GST inspectors and one private individual for extortion and cheating.

'For the first time in history'

"It was for the first time in the history of the GST administration in the state that an advertisement was issued to announce the dismissal of errant officials," he said.

"The ongoing inquiry which the state police department is conducting against the three inspectors will continue. On our side, we initiated a departmental probe and issued a show-cause notice to the inspectors. After hearing them, we decided to dismiss them from service to protect the image of the department," the official added.

(With PTI inputs)

Published on: Wednesday, March 22, 2023, 02:44 PM IST