CBI Conducts Searches In Shimla For Corrupt ED Official

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches for an Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer stationed in Shimla, from whose house and hideouts the agency recovered over a crore in cash. This includes Rs 54 lakh in bribe money reportedly handed to him by a complainant, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

"The assistant director is on the run. His brother was arrested on Wednesday because he too was part of the racket and collecting the money for his brother," the officer confirmed.

The CBI officer further explained that on November 22, while the absconding ED official was meeting the complainant to collect the bribe, he noticed CBI officials nearby. The official had summoned the complainant to a specific location in Chandigarh for the exchange of money. The CBI’s Chandigarh team had been tracking the complainant, leading to the location where the bribe was set to take place.

“The ED official realised he had been caught and hurriedly collected some of the money and got inside the car. The man drove rash and hit other cars while fleeing too. From the location where he had called the complainant, the CBI team recovered Rs 54 lakh of the total bribe money. Between December 22 and December 25, during the searches at his residence in Shimla and other places, the team recovered a further Rs 56.5 lakh in cash. The CBI teams are questioning his brother, who is a bank manager. The car has been seized though,” the officer added.

The officer clarified that no ED offices in Shimla were searched, and the Rs 56.5 lakh in cash was not found in any ED office.

While both the CBI and the ED have yet to release official statements, sources within the ED revealed that disciplinary action has already been initiated against the officer involved.

“CBI informed the ED about the case on November 24. Following the policy of zero tolerance, the said officer as well as his supervisory officer has been transferred from their place of posting and attached to the headquarters. Disciplinary action has been initiated against him and he will also be repatriated,” officials within the ED stated.
The case came to light after a man under investigation by the ED informed the CBI about the bribe demand from the assistant director. According to the informant, the ED official, stationed in Shimla, had asked for Rs 55 lakh in return for assistance in the case.

The absconding officer had been on deputation to the Enforcement Directorate for the past year, having originally served with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.