The Hindu : National : Official arrested on bribery charges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 23, 2004

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National

Official arrested on bribery charges

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 22. The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested four persons, including a Joint Director (Investigation) of the anti-adulteration cell of the Petroleum Ministry, for allegedly giving and accepting bribe. They have been remanded to CBI custody for three days.

The arrested persons also include a Delhi-based Naptha importer, a Gurgaon-based conduit of the Joint Director and the representative of the conduit. Following the arrest, searches were conducted at seven places in Delhi, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad.

As part of its continuing drive against corruption and adulteration of petrol and diesel, the anti-corruption branch of the CBI on Friday registered a case for possession of assets beyond known sources of income against an HFCL officer, at present on deputation as Joint Director (Investigation) to the Petroleum Ministry. The CBI learnt that the officer was habitually taking bribe and had allegedly amassed huge wealth. It was also learnt that the officer had been using a person from Gurgaon as his conduit for collecting bribes from several persons having official dealings with him.

The CBI sleuths came to know that the officer had demanded Rs. 7 lakhs as bribe from a Delhi-based industrialist, a major importer of Naptha and owner of a Naptha processing plant near Ghaziabad.

The CBI laid a trap and caught the officer as well as the representative of his Gurgaon-based conduit who received Rs. 7 lakhs in cash from the Delhi-based industrialist. The cash was recovered.

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