Pramesh S Jain
Officials of the Karnataka Lokayukta on Monday trapped a senior Commercial Tax officer red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs.6 lakh from a businesman for an official favour .
According to officials,the complainant,Vishwajeet Nayak (53),a resident of Jayanagar, had approached the Lokayukta alleging that a GST officer demanded a bribe to clear a pending tax-related matter.
The accused officer,Bharath Kumar Hegde (48),serving as Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (GST) in Hubballi,had allegedly demanded Rs.10 lakh to settle an adjudication related to an inspection report,which had flagged tax evasion of approximately Rs.60 lakh.The amount was later negotiated down to Rs.6 lakh.
Acting on the complaint,Lokayukta officials laid a trap and apprehended Hegde while he was allegedly accepting the bribe amount.He has since been secured for further investigation.
