The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Mumbai income tax inspector Subhash Yadav while he was allegedly accepting a Rs 15 lakh bribe from a complainant at Scindia House in South Mumbai, where the Income Tax Department’s investigation wing is located. The alleged payment was sought to ensure the closure of a case involving a benami property pending before the department’s Benami Prohibition Unit.
Yadav was produced before a court on Wednesday and remanded to two days of CBI custody. The agency told the remand court that the inspector had not cooperated with the investigation and had given evasive replies about the bribe money and the possible involvement of other people in the case.
According to the CBI, searches at Yadav’s residence resulted in the recovery of Rs 11 lakh in cash and incriminating documents. The agency also seized his electronic devices for examination. The CBI is investigating his work, his access to confidential information held by Benami Prohibition Unit-I and the possible role of other officials.
Yadav had been transferred from the Benami Prohibition Unit in June 2026 and was working in the department’s investigation unit at the time of his arrest, the report said. The agency is examining whether information accessed during his earlier posting is relevant to the alleged transaction or the wider investigation.
The complaint originated after the complainant received an income-tax notice in February. He appeared at Scindia House and submitted his explanation to a senior officer in the presence of Yadav and another income tax inspector. The two inspectors allegedly contacted him repeatedly and asked him to return to the office for further discussions about the case.
After a meeting at Scindia House, the inspectors allegedly took the complainant to a nearby roadside tea stall, where they demanded the bribe, according to the complaint described in court. The complainant was reluctant to pay and approached the CBI, following which the agency arranged a trap.
The CBI said Yadav was caught while allegedly accepting the Rs 15 lakh from the complainant on Tuesday. The agency is also investigating the role of the other inspector who was allegedly involved in discussions with the complainant.
While granting CBI custody, the court said the agency needed to conduct a detailed investigation into the involvement of other accused persons, examine the arrested inspector’s digital devices and collect his specimen voice sample. The investigation will determine the evidence relating to the alleged demand, the transfer of money and any wider connections to the benami-property case.
