Odisha vigilance arrests three including GST officer on graft charge

Odisha vigilance on Sunday arrested three persons including a commercial tax and GST officer on the charge of bribery, evasion of taxes, and causing loss to the government, officials said.

Binay Bhusan Tripathy, an assistant commissioner of enforcement unit, Jajpur along with two private persons Jyoti Pattnaik and Md Golam Sad has been arrested for evasion of taxes and misappropriation of government money over Rs 5.85 lakh, the vigilance officials said.

According to the vigilance, Tripathy had intercepted one goods vehicle carrying scrap worth Rs 8.89 lakh at Revena in Jajpur district in May this year. He detained the vehicle at a dhaba on the NH and demanded Rs 2.5 lakh bribe from the owner to release the vehicle.

However, when the bribe demand was not met, in contravention to the laws of GST, Tripathy, with an ulterior motive, illegally sold the entire scrap to another scrap dealer, and realized nominal tax and misappropriated Rs 5.85 lakh.

The investigation revealed that Tripath