Central Excise Department official held for involvement in bribery case

The Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau Friday nabbed a Central Excise Department official in a bribery case in Machilipatnam, officials said. This comes days after the state government issued an order withdrawing the "general consent" accorded to the CBI under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. 

This effectively banned the Central Bureau of Investigation from exercising its authority in the state. ACB Director General R P Thakur said in a release the Central Tax and Central Excise Superintendent M K Ramaneswar was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 for doing an official favour to a businessman in a GST (Goods and Services Tax) matter. 

Thakur said the superintendent demanded the bribe from the businessman to not harass him on the production of records related to input tax credit and also further auditing of business records. A chemical test conducted on the fingers of the accused yielded a positive result, the release said. 

Ever since he snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA government in March this year, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been alleging that the Centre was misusing agencies like the CBI to target political opponents.

(With inputs from agencies.)