The cops were fired when it was revealed that they were involved in a bogus operation and stole Rs 11 lakh from a famous businessman.
The state goods and services tax department, overseen by senior bureaucrat Rajeev Mittal, fired three GST inspectors after it was revealed they were involved in a bogus raid and stole Rs 11 lakh from a major dealer.
For the first time in the state administration’s history, an advertisement was released to announce the firing of delinquent officials.
Mittal said that the three were fired with immediate effect after completing the complete administrative and judicial procedure.
According to a senior state official, in the run-up to the expulsion of three GST inspectors—Machindra Kangane, Prakash Shegar, and Hitesh Vasaikar—a probe found that they had launched a bogus raid on the premises of a major merchant, were engaged in extortion, and fled with Rs 11 lakh cash.
The LT Marg police arrested three Tax inspectors and one private individual for cheating and extortion on September 17, 2021. On June 14, 2021, the three inspectors conducted an investigation at the Kalbadevi home of a businessman. They entered Lalchand Wanigota’s office and announced themselves as GST inspectors.
The owner was ordered to deposit the total cash in the office on the table in front of them. As a result, the office personnel presented them with Rs 30 lakh. The officers then requested required GST paperwork from Wanigota and collected Rs 11 lakh from him, claiming it will be deposited as Tax.
Wanigota then went to the GST office in Mazgaon, but was told there was no such raid, and he appeared to have been duped. Then, he went to the LT marg police station. The four were identified and detained based on CCTV video from the neighbourhood. They were fired when the departmental investigation was completed.
