After ‘barring’ CBI, Andhra Pradesh books central government staff

New Delhi: After withdrawing the ‘general consent’ for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to carry out probes in the state, the Andhra Pradesh government has registered its first case against a central government employee for allegedly receiving bribes to settle a GST case.

The revocation of the general consent earlier this month has restricted CBI’s power to investigate government employees and is being seen as a face -off between Andhra chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and the Centre that came in the background of alleged political interference in the central agency.

Sources told ET that the case has been registered against a Superintendent of the CGST range in Machilipatnam on Friday evening, after he was allegedly caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 in exchange for favourable auditing of input tax credit.


CBI, however, has claimed that it wrote to the state government asking for consent to move against the official based on a complaint but was blocked from taking action.

“However, the Govt of AP did not issue the specific consent as requested by CBI and instead the details were shared by the Home Department with state ACB and it laid a trap on November 30 in the evening against the central government public servant by using the contents of the request letter. Further, the state’s ACB also issued a press release as if the complainant had directly approached them,” a CBI release said..

“SP, CBI, Visakhapatnam has also personally called on Principal Secretary Home at her office at Velagapudy on November 29, in the morning, and requested for an early action, “ CBI has said.