LUCKNOW, May 21 -- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a fresh disproportionate assets (DA) case against an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer posted as deputy commissioner in the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) department in Jhansi in connection with the alleged Rs.1.5 crore bribery racket unearthed by the agency earlier this year, officials said. According to the FIR registered by the CBI's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Lucknow, on May 18, Prabha Bhandari, a 2016-batch IRS (customs and indirect taxes) officer and then deputy commissioner, CGST (Jhansi), allegedly amassed assets disproportionate to her known sources of income between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2025. The agency alleged that Bhandari accumulated assets worth Rs.88.51 lakh and incurred expenditure of Rs.46.61 lakh against an income of Rs.90.48 lakh during the check period, resulting in alleged disproportionate assets worth Rs.43.18 lakh. The FIR was registered under sections 13(2) and 13(1)(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018. According to the FIR, investigators found that Bhandari allegedly purchased a villa at "Namo Homes" in Jhansi valued at nearly Rs.69.91 lakh. The agency also cited bank deposits, jewellery, a Tata Harrier SUV and Rs.1.5 lakh cash allegedly recovered during searches at her residential premises. CBI officials said the fresh DA case emerged during investigation into a larger corruption case registered on December 31, 2025 against Bhandari and other CGST officials over the alleged demand for undue advantage from businessmen in GST-related matters. The present FIR is the latest development in the widening CBI probe into the alleged bribery network operating within the CGST office in Jhansi. Earlier, on March 24, the CBI had registered two separate disproportionate assets cases against former CGST superintendents Ajay Sharma and Anil Tiwari, who were arrested during the December 31 trap operation. The agency alleged that Ajay Sharma amassed disproportionate assets worth Rs.3.53 crore, while Anil Tiwari was allegedly found in possession of disproportionate assets amounting to Rs.1.10 crore during the check period. The DA cases stem from a high-profile trap operation conducted by the CBI on December 31, 2025, during which two CGST superintendents posted in Jhansi were allegedly caught red-handed while accepting Rs.70 lakh as part of a Rs.1.5 crore bribe allegedly demanded from private firms in exchange for favourable action in GST evasion matters. Those arrested in the operation included Prabha Bhandari, superintendents Ajay Sharma and Anil Tiwari, Raju Mangtani of M/s Jai Durga Hardware, and Naresh Kumar Gupta. Following the arrests, the CBI conducted searches at multiple locations and recovered around Rs.90 lakh in cash, besides jewellery, bullion and property-related documents. The agency had earlier stated that the total cash seizure in the case had reached approximately Rs.1.6 crore. Officials said scrutiny of financial records, bank transactions and asset accumulation patterns during the ongoing investigation subsequently led to the registration of separate DA cases against the accused officials. The latest FIR against Bhandari has been entrusted to deputy superintendent of police Arijit Sinha of the CBI's ACB, Lucknow, for investigation. CBI officials said the agency continues to probe possible benami investments, financial transactions and the wider extent of the alleged corruption network, including the identification of other beneficiaries and associates....