IRS officer, aides held after recorded call exposes Jhansi CGST graft

CBI Busts ₹1.5 Cr GST Bribe Racket

A single monitored phone call helped the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) unravel what it calls a meticulously planned corruption network within the Central GST department in Jhansi. At the centre of the case is Prabha Bhandari, a 2016-batch Indian Revenue Service officer serving as deputy commissioner, accused of orchestrating a ₹1.5-crore bribe to suppress a major tax evasion investigation.
The probe gathered momentum after CBI teams caught two GST superintendents, Anil Tiwari and Ajay Kumar Sharma, allegedly accepting ₹70 lakh in cash at the Jhansi CGST office. This amount was reportedly the first instalment of the agreed bribe. During questioning, both officers identified Bhandari as the key decision-maker behind the deal.
To secure direct evidence, investigators asked one of the arrested officers to place a call to Bhandari on speakerphone under official supervision. During the recorded conversation, she allegedly acknowledged receipt of the money and issued instructions to convert the cash into gold and deliver it to her. The call became a critical piece of evidence for the agency.
At the time, Bhandari was in Delhi, where a CBI team arrested her. Parallel searches were conducted at her locked residence in Jhansi, lasting several hours and resulting in the recovery of cash, gold, jewellery and property documents. Officials confirmed that her husband serves as an Army colonel.
The case stems from a December 19 raid led by Bhandari at Jai Durga Hardware in Jhansi&rsquo;s Jhoken Bagh area, where officials suspected tax irregularities that could lead to a demand of nearly ₹13 crore. Investigators allege that soon after the raid, a proposal was made to settle the matter for ₹1.5 crore through an intermediary.
The CBI has also arrested the firm&rsquo;s proprietor, Raju Mangtani and advocate Naresh Kumar Gupta, who allegedly facilitated negotiations. Subsequent searches led to the seizure of an additional ₹90 lakh, taking the total cash recovered to ₹1.6 crore, along with gold, silver and documents.
The case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the agency says further investigation is underway to identify other possible links and officials involved.

2 જાન્યુઆરી, 2026 | 11:24 IST

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