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Saturday, Jun 26, 2004

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National

Nationwide CBI raids

By Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI, JUNE 25. The Central Bureau of Investigation today launched a nationwide special drive to target corrupt Government officers in several departments and public sector undertakings, conducting raids and searches at 74 places and registering 38 cases so far. However, no arrest has been made.

Addressing a press conference at the agency's headquarters here, the CBI Director, Uma Shankar Mishra, said the cases had been registered against 50 persons under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Indian Penal Code, and Passport Act. Disproportionate assets cases had been registered against seven Government servants belonging to the Unit Trust of India, Central Excise, Income Tax, Cement Corporation of India, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Insurance and Customs. As many as 20 private persons or firms, including travel agents, were also involved in these cases.

Mr. Mishra said searches were still continuing at 13 places in Delhi, 24 places in Mumbai, seven in Nasik, three each in Patna and Cochin, two in Hyderabad, 12 places in Visakhapatnam, four in Chandigarh and one place each in Karnal, Tuticorin, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Srinagar. He said the CBI had kept officers of doubtful integrity under watch for the past three to four months before swooping down on them.

"In cases registered today, cash and valuables and securities worth Rs. 28.72 lakhs have been seized and movable and immovable property worth Rs. 7.43 crores have been detected. Investigations are still going on,'' he said.

Our Chennai Special Correspondent reports:

In Chennai, the CBI conducted searches in the residence of a Provident Fund official and the proprietor of a private company in connection with a case of an irregularity in the accounts. Also, a surprise check was conducted in a drugs godown and samples of a contraceptive device were taken for testing.

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