Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A team of Indore Lokayukta apprehended 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 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 Tripathi.

In addition to reinstating the firm's registration, the officer sought the bribe for making necessary amendments to three firm registrations. After raising his concerns, Birla contacted SP Lokayukta, Rajesh Sahay, to report the misconduct.

Following an investigation led by Lokayukta DSP Praveen Singh Baghel, the complaint was verified and deemed credible. On the day of the sting operation, the officials from the Lokayukta unit caught Tripathi red-handed, while accepting the bribe in his office at the CGST Division in Khandwa.

Tripathi, 56, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, has been in his Khandwa position since July 2023, drawing a monthly salary of approximately Rs 1.25 lakh. Reports indicate that Tripathi had established a residence in Khandwa since his posting and had allegedly set fixed bribe rates for various tasks he oversaw.