Telangana ACB arrests two tax officials for accepting ₹50,000 bribe in Nirmal

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday arrested a state tax officer and a senior assistant in Nirmal district for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹50,000 in connection with a GST audit. The accused were identified as Koppela Gadavari, State Tax Officer, Nirmal Circle, and Manthri Sai Krishna, Senior Assistant in the office of the Assistant Commissioner (State Tax), Nirmal.

According to the ACB, the two officials initially demanded ₹1 lakh from a 65-year-old businessman from Mancherial to do an official favour during the audit of records of Sri Laxmi Prasanna Jewelers for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. Following repeated requests from the complainant, the demand was allegedly reduced to ₹80,000 and finally settled at ₹50,000.

The ACB said the alleged favour involved issuing a favourable audit report that would allow the business to show a lower taxable turnover and GST liability, resulting in a corresponding loss of revenue to the government. Such actions, if proven, amount to misuse of official position for undue advantage.

During a trap laid by the Adilabad Range ACB officials on Monday, Gadavari received the ₹50,000 from the complainant and handed it over to Sai Krishna. The tainted cash was subsequently recovered from their possession.

The ACB stated that both officers had demanded and accepted illegal gratification by abusing their official positions. The accused were arrested and are being produced before the Special Judge for SPE and ACB Cases concerned. The case is under investigation.

For security reasons, the ACB has withheld the complainant's details. The bureau has appealed to the public to report any demand for bribes by public servants on its toll-free number 1064. The case highlights the ongoing efforts to curb corruption in government departments and the importance of citizen cooperation in such matters.