CBI arrests two ED officers for taking bribe in Ahmedabad

CBI sources said the accused officers had demanded Rs 75 lakh as bribe from a trader and Rs 5 lakh was the first installment

The anti-corruption wing of CBI, Gandhinagar, on Friday, caught two officers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) allegedly for accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh. CBI sources said the accused officers had demanded Rs 75 lakh as bribe from a Surat-based businessman and Rs 5 lakh was the first instalment.

"We have caught PK Singh, Deputy Director, and Bhuvnesh Kumar, Assistant Director, from posted with ED, Ahmedabad, in a trap based on a complaint lodged by a trader. They had demanded Rs 75 lakh," a CBI official said on the condition of anonymity. Sources said the CBI team was searching the ED office at Helmet circle in Ahmedabad for further clues.

Sources said that the department had transferred Kumar about a week ago and he was supposed to join the Bengaluru office. He was yet to be relieved. Sources said that the complainant is a trader who was booked by CBI in a corruption case. It was based on the CBI case that ED started the probe on charges of money laundering.

According to the FIR, Superintendent of Police, CBI, ACB, S K Sareen received a complaint from a trader based in Surat who is under investigation for defrauding Bank of Baroda to the tune of Rs 104 crore. Following the CBI case, ED Ahmedabad also started investigating under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The FIR states for investigation, accused officers-Singh and Kumar- called businessman along with his sons at ED office in Ahmedabad on April 22 and May 25 and recorded their statements. On June 18, the businessman and his son were called again and allegedly abused and beaten up by the two accused officers.

"Thereafter, Singh is alleged to have demanded undue advantage of Rs 75 lakhs in the presence of Bhuvnesh Kumar, Assistant Director to settle their case. The complainant was also asked to talk about the bribe in code language i.e one kilo for one lakh. Thereafter, on June 26, Bhuvnesh Kumar made a WhatsApp call on the complainant's mobile, but since he was not there, he called again in the evening, during which he discussed about the bribe amount advance of Rs. 5 lakhs and how to send it through an Angadia firm to Delhi," the FIR states.