Ahmedabad, October 10: The Gujarat Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested two Central GST officers and a middleman in a case of bribery in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city, the ACB said on Thursday. The accused have been identified as Central Goods and Services Tax audit superintendent Mohammad Rizwan Shaikh, CGST inspector Kuldip Kushwah and middleman Bhaumik Soni, an ACB release said.

Shaikh, a class II officer, recently issued a notice to the owner of a city-based bullion trading firm for carrying out an audit of their accounts from July 2017 to March 2023. As part of the process, Kushwah, a class III officer, visited the firm's office on CG Road here and asked its owner to visit the CGST office with all the required documents required for the audit. CBI Arrests ED Assistant Director for Taking Bribe of INR 20 Lakh From Mumbai-Based Jeweller.

After going through papers submitted by the bullion trader, both the officers told the trader that he will have to pay Rs 35 lakh as penalty for some errors in the accounts, the release said. Later, both the accused allegedly demanded Rs 1.25 lakh as bribe from the trader to reduce the penalty amount, it said. Bribe in Installment: 'Corrupt but Kind' Officials in Gujarat Accepting Bribes in EMIs, Say Reports; 10 Such Cases Reported So Far.

After getting a complaint from the trader, the ACB laid a trap at his office on Wednesday and nabbed Soni for accepting Rs 1.25 lakh in cash at the behest of the two officers, who were also caught from other locations, the release said.