Big Breaking: CBI Arrests Two Income Tax Office Employees While Accepting Bribe—All We Know So Far

On Friday evening, November 29, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) detained two employees of the Aaykar Bhawan Silchar (Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax) in a bribery case related to the cancellation of PAN cards. Among those arrested is a permanent female staff member and a casual employee. The arrests, backed by video evidence gathered during a week-long investigation, led to the suspects being taken to Guwahati for further legal procedures.

The arrested individuals are identified as Dipti Sarkar, a permanent fourth-grade staff member, and Swapan Kumar Das, a casual contractual employee. The case came to light after a complaint was filed by Jahanara Begum, a resident of Tulargram village, Sonaimukh area in the Cachar district. Begum had two PAN cards in her possession, a violation under Section 272B of the IT Act, which imposes a ₹10,000 fine for holding multiple PAN cards.

To surrender one of her PAN cards, Jahanara visited the Income Tax office in Circuit Road, Silchar, on July 15, 2024. There, Income Tax Officer (ITO) Sudarshan Das guided her to submit an application along with an affidavit, vowing that one card would be cancelled within three months. Which is the normal procedure. However, despite the elapsed time, both cards remained active. Concerned, she revisited the office in November to follow up.

During her second visit, Jahanara went with her nephew and queried the ITO about the delay in processing her application. She had also found form another applicant who had applied on a later date than her, got her card cancelled. This added to her frustration. The ITO, citing a backlog of applications from 2022-23, redirected her to another room for clarification. There, she encountered Dipti Sarkar and Swapan Kumar Das, who demanded ₹10,000 to expedite the process. Shocked by the demand, Jahanara left the office with her nephew, who noted that the bribe amount was identical to the fine for possessing two PAN cards. He promptly contacted the CBI and lodged a formal complaint.

The CBI initiated an investigation, visiting Jahanara’s home to gather details and orchestrate a sting operation. The nephew was equipped with a hidden camera and instructed to negotiate with the staff. He was also instructed that the negotiation needs to be captured on camera, which would become the main evidence. After multiple attempts spanning seven days, clear video evidence was finally secured on Thursday, November 28. The initial demand of ₹10,000 was reduced to ₹4,000 during the negotiations, involving Dipti, Swapan, and another permanent employee, Simi Das.

On Friday, November 29, a CBI team from Shillong reached Silchar and executed the sting operation. The team went through the video evidence and gave the green signal. With ₹4,000 provided by the CBI, the complainant visited the Aaykar Bhawan, where the two staff members were caught red-handed accepting the bribe. Although Simi Das was absent during the handover, Dipti Sarkar and Swapan Kumar Das were apprehended.

During initial questioning, the duo admitted to taking bribes to address over 700 pending PAN card applications. Following their detention, both were transported to Guwahati for further investigation. The CBI is now set to question ITO Sudarshan Das and Simi Das to ascertain their involvement in the bribery racket. Sudarshan Das is out of station for training under the department.

It is clear that these employees are working for a bigger kingpin, which will only come up as the investigation further unfolds.