CBI raids premises of IRS officer held for taking bribe from Pizza chain owner; 1 cr cash, 3kg gold seized
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday recovered around 3.5 kilograms of gold, two kilograms of silver, and approximately ₹1 crore in cash while conducting searches at premises in Delhi linked to an arrested senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and another accused in a bribery case.
According to ANI, the ongoing investigation pertains to the arrest of two accused, including Amit Kumar Singal, a 2007-batch IRS official currently serving as Additional Director General at the Directorate of Taxpayer Services.
Also Read | Punjab: CA held taking ₹10L bribe on behalf of IRS officer
His associate Harsh Kotak was also arrested, following a trap operation. The two are being probed in connection with a bribery case involving an amount of ₹25 lakh, officials said on Monday.
As per the PTI news agency, Amit Kumar Singal had allegedly demanded a total bribe amount of ₹45 lakh to settle an income-tax notice issued to Sanam Kapoor, owner of La Pino'z Pizza, according to the CBI FIR.
The first instalment of ₹25 lakh was delivered to his residence in Punjab's Mohali on Saturday, where Kotak allegedly received the money on the officer's behalf.
Also Read | Tax educator's viral bribe post over GST gets response from Nirmala Sitharaman
Acting on Kapoor's complaint, a CBI team raided the premises and arrested Kotak.
Another team of the federal agency arrested Singal from his Delhi residence on the same day.
According to the FIR, Singal, then posted as the joint commissioner of the Customs Department, Mumbai, approached Kapoor and, after a few meetings, entered into a master franchise contract with La Pinoz Pizza through Parker Impex, a partnership firm in the name of his mother, Ranjna, and Amit Rattan.
Also Read | MCG engineer held for taking ₹1L bribe to allow warehouse in Daultabad
It was allegedly followed by other agreements regarding a franchise deal for two outlets and a store with Flevaco (a partnership firm of Harsh Kotak and his mother, Godavariben Amulakhbhai Kotak) and an agreement for an outlet with Mohini Hospitality, in which Kotak's wife, Kiran, was the proprietor.
Meanwhile, the two were produced before a special magistrate in Chandigarh, who remanded them in judicial custody till June 13, according to Kapoor's lawyer, Gagandeep Jammu.
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