Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh): A team of Indore Lokayukta arrested a Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) officer on Friday for demanding a bribe of Rs 20,000. The officer, identified as GST superintendent Mukesh Tripathi, was accused of soliciting a bribe from an accountant with the promise of restoring the suspended registration of a medical firm and correcting the registrations of two additional firms.
According to the complainant, Rahul Birla, a resident of Sanawad in Khargone district, he provides GST return and accounting services. Birla reported that the registration of a medical firm he represented had been suspended under dubious circumstances by Superintendent Tripathi.
Accused earned a salary of Rs 1.25 lakh!
For restoring the firm's registration, the accused officer sought a bribe for making necessary amendments to three firm registrations. Birla then reported the misconduct to Superintendent of Police Lokayukta Rajesh Sahay.
Following an investigation led by Lokayukta’s DSP Praveen Singh Baghel, the complaint was verified and deemed credible. On the day of the sting operation, officials from the Lokayukta unit caught Superintendent Tripathi red-handed while accepting the bribe in his office at the CGST Division in Khandwa. This operation reflects the Lokayukta’s ongoing efforts to clamp down on corruption within the public sector, with charges based on the Prevention of Corruption Act firmly established against the accused.
Rates for different tasks
As per reports, the accused Superintendent Mukesh Tripathi (56) hails from Uttar Pradesh. He has been posted in his Khandwa since July 2023. He earned a monthly salary of approximately Rs 1.25 lakh.
Interestingly, Tripathi has established a residence in Khandwa till now. Also, he had allegedly set fixed bribe rates for various tasks he oversaw.
