How Deputy Commissioner Prabha Bhandari Fell Into the CBI Trap: Eight-Day Bribery Deal Exposed

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has busted a major bribery racket within the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) department in Jhansi, arresting IRS officer and Deputy Commissioner Prabha Bhandari along with four others. The arrests were made in connection with an alleged ₹1.5 crore bribery deal aimed at providing relief to a hardware businessman accused of large-scale tax evasion.

According to CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch, the accused officials were demanding bribes to settle a case involving crores of rupees in GST evasion. After negotiations that reportedly continued for nearly eight days, the deal was allegedly finalized at ₹70 lakh. Deputy Commissioner Prabha Bhandari was arrested from her residence in Delhi, while the remaining accused were apprehended in Jhansi.

During the raids, the CBI recovered ₹70 lakh in bribe money, taking the total cash seizure to approximately ₹1.60 crore. In addition, large quantities of gold and silver jewellery and property-related documents were also seized, indicating disproportionate assets.

Among those arrested are GST lawyer Naresh Kumar Gupta, who allegedly acted as the key middleman in negotiating the deal, hardware trader Raju Manganani, and two department officials—Superintendent Anil Tiwari and Ajay Kumar Sharma. Investigators revealed that the bribery demand stemmed from a recent CGST raid conducted at Jai Durga Hardware around eight days ago, after which talks allegedly began to suppress the case in exchange for money.

Sources said that while the original demand was ₹1.5 crore, continuous negotiations eventually brought the amount down to ₹70 lakh. Acting on specific intelligence, the CBI laid a trap without involving local departmental staff. When the agency attempted to apprehend the businessman and the lawyer, both tried to flee, during which the businessman sustained an injury to his leg.

The high-profile arrests have sent shockwaves through the CGST department, exposing deep-rooted corruption and raising serious questions about internal oversight mechanisms. The CBI is continuing its investigation to trace the money trail and identify any additional officials involved in the case.