Middleman held in connection with bribery case involving ED official: CBI

Chandigarh: The CBI arrested an alleged middleman on Saturday in connection with a bribery case, in which an assistant director of the ED is under the scanner, officials said.

The officer managed to give a slip to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) during a trap operation on Sunday (December 22) and is yet to join the investigation, while his brother has been arrested by the federal agency, the officials added.

The CBI arrested “middleman” Neeraj on Saturday and produced him before a special court that sent him to the agency’s custody for a day, they said.

The assistant director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) posted at Shimla and his brother, a senior manager in the Punjab National Bank in Delhi, had allegedly gone to a location near Chandigarh to receive bribe money from a businessman, who is facing a case lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said.

The businessman filed a complaint with the CBI about alleged extortion, based on which the Chandigarh unit of the agency planned the trap operation where the complainant was asked to give a bribe of Rs 55 lakh in cash to the officer, with CBI sleuths keeping an eye, the officials said.

The plan was that the CBI would nab the accused after the bribe was received by him, they said.

The ED officer, who is on deputation from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), got alerted during the operation and allegedly fled, the officials said.

The agency has been trying to locate him for six days. It has even launched technical surveillance to pin-point his location but to no avail.

So far, cash amounting to around Rs 1 crore, including the bribe money, has been recovered during searches, the officials said.

The CBI has arrested the officer’s brother, Vikas Deep, in connection with the case and produced him before a court, they added.

The agency is questioning him regarding his alleged involvement in the case.

Sources in the ED said the accused assistant director of its Shimla sub-zonal office and his supervisory officers — a deputy director and the joint director (based in Chandigarh) — have been transferred to Delhi following the case.