ln a shocking turn of events, four officers from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department have been arrested for allegedly conducting a fraudulent raid and extorting Rs1.5 crore from a businessman in Bengaluru. The Karnataka Central Crime Branch (CCB) police apprehended the officials, who are affiliated with the Director General of GST Intelligence, Bengaluru Zonal Unit (Central GST).
The arrested officers are
- Abhishek
- Manoj Saini
- Nagesh Babu
- Sonali Sahay
Their arrests followed a complaint from Keshav Tak, the owner of Mexo Solutions Private Limited, who reported the illegal actions of the GST officials.
According to Tak’s complaint, the officials, posing as members of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and GST, conducted an unauthorized raid at his residence between August 30 and September 1. They allegedly seized mobile phones and took Tak and his associates to their office, where they were separated and pressured to pay a ransom of Rs3 crore. After prolonged negotiations, the amount was reduced to Rs1.5 crore, which Tak was forced to arrange.
Following this ordeal, Tak conducted his own investigation and confirmed that the raid was not authorized. On September 2, he filed a police report, prompting the arrest of the GST officials.
During the investigation, CCB police seized 32 mobile phones, two laptops, and 50 cheque books from the accused officers, although no money has been recovered as of yet. The court has granted the police custody of the accused for 10 days to further investigate suspicious transactions and work towards recovering the extorted funds.