Patna: The Assam Special Task Force (STF), with assistance from Patna Police, arrested two persons from Shastri Nagar area of the city on Monday in connection with an alleged Rs 17-crore GST fraud case.The accused, identified as Shahbaz Haider and Sania Sultan, were taken into custody following a raid in Samanpura area under Shastri Nagar police station limits on Bailey Road. Following their arrest, both were taken to LNJP Hospital for medical examination. Thereafter the Assam STF completed the legal formalities for obtaining transit remand from Patna civil court before taking the duo to Assam for further investigation.According to Assam STF inspector Prabhakar Singh, an FIR had been registered by the STF regarding alleged GST irregularities linked to an asphalt company owned by the accused in Assam. Preliminary investigations have revealed a suspected fraud amounting to nearly Rs17 crore.Patna Secretariat SDPO-I, Anu Kumari said that the operation was being carried out by the Assam STF with support from local authorities. “Legal procedures are underway. The matter is related to GST fraud,” she said.News of the arrests drew family members of the accused and a large number of local residents to the Shastri Nagar police station. Police personnel were deployed to manage the crowd and maintain order.