CBI arrests ED assistant director for taking Rs 20 lakh bribe

The CBI has arrested an assistant director of the ED for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a Mumbai-based jeweller, officials said on Thursday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted searches at the premises of the jeweller, Vipul Harish Thakkar, on August 3 and 4. Assistant Director Sandeep Singh Yadav allegedly threatened to arrest Thakkar's son if he did not pay him Rs 25 lakh, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

During negotiations, the amount was reduced to Rs 20 lakh, the officials said.

Later, Thakkar approached the CBI.

"The verification of the complaint in the presence of independent witnesses, prima facie revealed criminal conspiracy hatched by Sandeep Singh, Assistant Director, Enforcement Directorate HQ, New Delhi with unknown others to obtain undue advantage... of Rs 20 lakh by himself and through other person from the complainant Vipul Thakkar for not arresting his son Nihar Thakkar in the matter being investigated by the ED," the CBI FIR stated.

Yadav, who is an officer from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe in the national capital by the Mumbai unit of the agency, the officials said.