Ajit Kumar Patra, an Odisha native, was detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday for reportedly organising a complex impersonation and bribery scheme in which he pretended to be a senior GST officer and other high-ranking government officials in order to extort money from businesspeople.
According to the CBI, Patra was apprehended in Rajasthan while collecting a bribe of Rs 18 lakh. Subsequently, searches conducted in Delhi, Rajasthan, and Odisha turned up Rs 3.7 crore in cash, more than one kilogramme of gold jewellery, and several expensive cars.
CBI Arrest and Trap in Rajasthan
The operation was reportedly started when reliable information revealed that Patra and his friend Minku Lal Jain were requesting a bribe from a businessman in Jaipur in order to "settle" a tax authorities case.

However, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Jaipur, was looking into the businessman and had raided his property on November 4. Parihar allegedly called Patra, who made up a claim to have influence with DGGI and law enforcement officials, in an attempt to evade legal repercussions.
After that, Patra and Jain wanted a bribe of Rs 18 lakh, which was given through Jagjit Singh Gill, Parihar's colleague. In response to this information, CBI agents set up a trap and caught the two on November 10 when they were getting the marked money. The bribery exchange was confirmed when the trap money was immediately seized.
Significant Recoveries in Three States
After the arrests, the CBI simultaneously raided around 20 locations in Delhi, Rajasthan, and Odisha that were connected to Patra and Jain.

According to officials, Patra had been using several fictitious identities, frequently posing as a senior official from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), or other enforcement branches. He was able to stay in official government guest homes, attend restricted areas, and receive VIP treatment at public and religious events thanks to these fictitious credentials.

According to the most recent sources, the CBI has detained Patra and Jain and is questioning them in order to ascertain the complete scope of their activities and identify more benefactors.