Mumbai: The CBI filed chargesheet against Suhas Bhalerao, an assistant commissioner of CGST, in a Rs 1.5 lakh bribery case. The inspector, who had allegedly collected the money on Bhalerao’s behalf and was arrested with him, was made a witness in the case. This inspector later assisted the CBI in uncovering another GST superintendent’s involvement in a similar case along with Bhalerao.
At the Belapur Commissionerate in Navi Mumbai, Bhalerao called a transporter at his office regarding alleged unpaid service tax. Despite the transporter providing documentation proving no pending payments, Bhalerao insisted and promised to drop the demand in exchange for a Rs 1.5 lakh bribe. This led the transporter to file a complaint with the CBI.
In March, when the transporter visited with the money, Bhalerao instructed him to hand it over to his inspector within the building premises. The CBI arrested the inspector during the transaction, who then revealed he was acting on Bhalerao’s instructions. Following Bhalerao’s arrest, a search of his residence uncovered several lakhs of unexplained cash.
The inspector’s voluntary statement was recorded by a magistrate under Section 164 CrPC, and the CBI decided to make him a witness. The inspector disclosed to the CBI that Bhalerao collected a Rs 6 lakh bribe from a technology service provider firm too to drop a tax-penalty demand. From the collected bribe money, Rs 2 lakh was equally shared between the inspector and another superintendent working in the office, leading the CBI to register a separate case against them.