Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Sales Tax officer arrested for demanding Rs 8 lakh bribe
A tax officer in India has been arrested by the police.
The police say he asked a scrap trader for money to stop a tax investigation.
Asking for money to do your job is called bribery, and it is against the law.
The officer first asked for a very large amount, 15 lakh rupees.
After police officers pretended to be the trader's helpers, he agreed to take 8 lakh rupees.
The police then caught him in a special operation and put him under arrest.
He was working in Navi Mumbai, a city near Mumbai, when the bribe was demanded.
A case was registered at the CBD Belapur police station, and the investigation is still going on.
The police also asked people to report officials who demand bribes by calling a free helpline, 1064.
The Navi Mumbai Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Deepak Ramchandra Kshirsagar (56), Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Raigad Division, CBD Belapur.
Kshirsagar allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 15 lakh, later reduced to Rs 8 lakh after 'negotiations', from a scrap trader to close a Goods and Services Tax (GST) inquiry.
The complainant, a 47-year-old trader associated with M/s Vidhi Industries, had received a GST show-cause notice under Section 73(1) dated February 8, 2025.
ACB officials posed as middlemen, conducted a verification on May 25, 2026, and carried out a trap operation; Kshirsagar was taken into custody at around 6.10 pm.
A case was registered at the CBD Belapur Police Station under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018), and further probe is underway.
- Who
- Deepak Ramchandra Kshirsagar (56), Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Raigad Division, CBD Belapur, recently transferred as Deputy Commissioner (Class-I), Sales Tax Department, Mazgaon, Mumbai; the complainant is a 47-year-old scrap trader associated with M/s Vidhi Industries.
- What
- Arrested by the Navi Mumbai ACB for allegedly demanding a bribe, initially Rs 15 lakh and later reduced to Rs 8 lakh, to close a GST inquiry against the trader's business.
- When
- Arrest reported on August 11, 2026; the officer allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh when the trader met him on May 20, 2026, and the ACB verified the demand on May 25, 2026 before the trap operation.
- Where
- Navi Mumbai; the case was registered at the CBD Belapur Police Station.
- Why
- The trader wanted the GST scrutiny and inquiry into his business closed, and the officer allegedly demanded a bribe to do so.
- Accused
- Deepak Ramchandra Kshirsagar (56)
- Designation
- Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Raigad Division, CBD Belapur; now Deputy Commissioner (Class-I), Mazgaon, Mumbai
- Complainant
- 47-year-old scrap trader associated with M/s Vidhi Industries (GST: 27AFTPD0970N12)
- Bribe demand
- Rs 15 lakh initially, reduced to Rs 8 lakh after negotiations
- Show-cause notice
- February 8, 2025, under Section 73(1) via GST portal
- Arrest
- Taken into custody at around 6.10 pm after a trap operation (report dated August 11, 2026)
- Case registered
- Crime Register No. 278/2026 at CBD Belapur Police Station
- Law invoked
- Section 7, Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018)
