A transcript of the recorded conversation between accused IRS officer Amit Kumar Singhal and complainant Sanam Kapoor reveals that when the complainant sought help from Singhal in the income tax notice matter by promising to pay Rs 45 lakh ‘bribe’, the accused initially showed some resistance by saying that he is in a job (“main hai na nokri mein hu”), but later relented.The transcript of the conversation between complainant Sanam Kapoor, co-accused Harsh Kotak and accused IRS officer Amit Kumar Singhal has been attached by the CBI in the FIR copy.The conversation was recorded in a voice recorder’s memory card, which was taken by the complainant, on being told by CBI officials, to the residence of an advocate in Chandigarh, where co-accused Harsh Kotak was sitting. The conversation between Harsh Kotak and Sanam Kapoor was recorded over a discussion on Rs 45 lakh bribe. Also, Harsh Kotak let the complainant talk to Amit Kumar Singhal from his mobile phone on speaker. During the conversation, the bribe of Rs 45 lakh came up and the complainant requested Singhal to sort out the matter of income tax notice.As per the transcript of the conversation, initially, Singhal is heard denying the bribe demand, attempting to maintain a façade of integrity. However, as the conversation progresses, he appears to soften his stance and ultimately ‘agrees’ to the bribe proposal.The CBI had laid a trap and caught Singhal, Additional Director General at the Directorate of Taxpayer Services, New Delhi, and his associate Kotak while they were allegedly demanding the bribe. They had reportedly been harassing Kapoor, the owner of La Pino’s Pizza, by sending him repeated income tax notices and then demanding Rs 45 lakh to have them withdrawn. Kapoor alerted the CBI, leading to a trap and arrest of the accused.Also Read | IRS officer sent to judicial custody in Chandigarh; CBI seizes Rs 3.5 crore gold, Rs 1 crore cash from premisesAs per CBI’s remand paper submitted at Chandigarh Court on Sunday, “…role of accused Amit Kumar Singhal, is complicit as during the conversations held with complainant over telephone at the time of verification on May 30, 2025 and trap proceedings on May 31, 2025, the accused Amit kumar Singhal acknowledged the demand of bribe amount of Rs 45 lakh raised by him in exchange for extending favourable treatment from the Revenue/lncome Tax Department and subsequently accepted bribe amount of Rs 25 Lakhs from complainant through co- accused Harsh Kotak”.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd