Hyderabad CBI trap: Exposes bribery norm in Basheerbagh GST Office

Hyderabad: Is a 2 percent commission the norm for moving files in the Payments and Accounts Office (PAO) of GST/ Customs at GST Bhavan, Basheerbagh? The recent trap of two GST officials by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) proves the same. The tainted officials allegedly demanded a two percent commission from the retired assistant commissioner of their own department.

Retired GST Officer's complaint leads to CBI trap

Going further into the case details, on August 14, 2025, Y.M. Vijaya Kumar, a retired Assistant Commissioner of GST, who retired in 2024, said that his ‘arrears of pay bills’ were sanctioned by the Medchal Commissionerate and were sent to the Pay and Accounts Office (PAO) at GST Bhavan, Basheerbagh, Hyderabad for approval. “On August 16, 2025, Dasari Prakash Rao, a Senior Accounts Officer in PAO, GST/Customs, Hyderabad, initially demanded Rs. 30,000, which is 2% of the Rs. 14.45 lakh bill amount, to process the payment. He later reduced the demand to Rs. 25,000,” said the complainant Y.M. Vijaya Kumar in his petition to CBI.

Preliminary investigation of CBI revealed that D Prakash Rao introduced P Sudharshan in his office to the complainant and asked him to hand over a bribe amount of Rs. 25,000 to Sudharshan, who would in turn hand over the same to him.

Based on the complaint, the CBI registered the case on 2 September 2025 against the said accused and unknown others on the allegations. Subsequently, the CBI laid a trap and caught both the accused red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from the complainant.

After the complainant handed over the money to Sudarshan, the CBI swiftly entered the premises and conducted a phenolphthalein test on Sudarshan's left-hand fingers. The test confirmed the indication of the bribe, and the serial numbers of the currency notes matched those recorded during the pre-trap proceedings. Consequently, both accused officials were arrested on the spot.

Thereafter, a search was conducted in the houses of Dasari Prakash Rao, a Senior Accounts Officer, and P Sudharshan, a Senior Accountant, and certain documents were recovered during the search.  Currently the CBI agency is busy gathering the documents and other electronic evidence that need to be collected and examined. Further the central agency is also set to examine several witnesses to ascertain the facts and circumstances pertaining to the allegations.

Two days police custody

Simultaneously, the CBI has secured two-day police custody of two senior GST officials, D Prakash Rao, a Senior Accounts Officer, and P Sudharshan, a Senior Accountant, who were arrested in a bribery case.

The CBI, in its custody petition filed before the court, sought five days of police custody of the tainted officials, arguing that the investigation is at a nascent stage and requires interrogation to uncover the potential involvement of other higher officials. The accused filed counters citing protection and expressed concern over evidence being fabricated. 

After hearing both sides, the Nampally local court granted the CBI two days of custody, from September 10 to September 12, with strict conditions against third-degree methods and allowing advocates to be present in the vicinity.

Released on Bail

Following the two days of police custody, tainted officials approached the court seeking bail. A CBI court in Hyderabad has granted bail to two senior GST department officials arrested in a bribery case involving Rs 25,000 on Thursday. The court ordered both accused to surrender their passports and not leave the country without permission. The prosecution had opposed bail, arguing that voice samples from Prakash Rao were still needed and that the officials might tamper with evidence. The court noted both were permanent government employees and were unlikely to flee.

The court in its orders said that D Prakash Rao and P Sudharshan are to be enlarged on bail on executing their personal bonds for a sum of Rs. 20,000 each with two sureties. If they are holding a passport, they are directed to surrender the passport before this Court and shall not leave the country without the prior permission of this Court. Further, they shall not influence the witnesses in this case directly or indirectly as ordered by the court.