The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Hyderabad Income Tax Commissioner Jeevan Lal Lavidiya and four others after catching them red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹70 lakh on Saturday.
The arrested include 2004-batch Indian Revenue Service officer Jeevan Lal Lavidiya, Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Hyderabad; Viral Kantilal Mehta, DGM (Taxation), Shapoorji Pallonji Group (Chembur resident); Sajida Majhar Hussain Shah; Sairam Palisetty of Srikakulam; and Natta Veera Naga Sri Ram Gopal.
The CBI conducted raids at 18 locations across Mumbai, Hyderabad, Khammam, Visakhapatnam, and New Delhi, resulting in the seizure of incriminating documents, ₹69 lakh in cash, and the ₹70 lakh bribe amount received by the accused.
The federal anti-corruption agency had registered a case on Friday against the Commissioner of Income Tax, Hyderabad, and 14 others for alleged corruption in settling appeals pending before the senior IRS officer.
Lavidiya, who was also holding additional charge as Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals Unit-8 and Unit-7) under the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Hyderabad, was allegedly colluding with middlemen to extend illegal favours to private parties by delivering favourable decisions on appeals pending before him.
Acting on a verified complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught a middleman in Mumbai while accepting a bribe of ₹70 lakh from a private party on behalf of Lavidiya. “Questioning and further investigation, supported by corroborating evidence, traced the money trail back to the Commissioner and his associates in Hyderabad,” confirmed a senior CBI official.
The accused arrested in Mumbai were produced before the Special CBI Court, while those detained in Hyderabad were taken to the competent court in Andhra Pradesh/Telangana for remand.
