Alleged bribery case: CBI books GAIL director, arrests five
New Delhi: The CBI has booked E S Ranganathan, director (marketing) of GAIL, and arrested five persons including alleged middlemen and businessmen in a case of alleged bribery of over Rs 50 lakh for giving discounts to private companies buying petro chemical products marketed by the Maharatna PSU, officials said Saturday.
Following the registration of the case on Friday, the CBI conducted searches at about eight locations in Delhi-NCR including the office of Ranganathan at Bhikaji Kama Place in Delhi and his residence in Sector 62, Noida.
The CBI has so far recovered Rs 1.3 crore in cash from Ranganathan's premises.
Besides Ranganathan, the agency has also booked middlemen Pawan Gaur and Rajesh Kumar, N Ramakrishnan Nair who had allegedly collected bribes, businessmen Saurabh Gupta and his Panchkula -based company United Polymer Industries and Aditya Bansal and his company Karnal-based Bansal Agency, they said.
"CBI laid a trap and apprehended a private person (Gaur) and a director of a private company (Kumar) based at Delhi when the alleged bribe of Rs 10 lakh was received by the private person from the said director of private company allegedly on behalf of director (marketing) GAIL, (Ranganathan)," CBI spokesperson RC Joshi said.
The agency has so far arrested five persons but Ranganathan has not yet been taken into custody. Searches at this premises are still on,
sources said.
"Subsequent, searches were conducted at the premises of accused at Delhi, Noida,Gurgaon, Panchkula, Karnal etc, which led to recovery of Rs.84 lakh(approx), so far which include recovery of Rs 75 lakh from Gurgaon based private person. Searches are continuing at the premises of public servant," Joshi said.
It is alleged that Ranganathan was "indulging into corrupt and illegal activities in criminal conspiracy" with Gaur and Kumar who is also director of Rishab Polychem Pvt. Ltd based at Bahudargarh Road, Delhi. Kumar and Gaur allegedly acted as Ranganathan's middlemen, by obtaining bribe from the private companies buying petro chemical products marketed by the GAIL, the FIR alleged.
It said sources informed the CBI that at the direction of Kumar, Gaur had asked Ranganathan for allowing some discount to the buyers on petro chemical products being marketed by GAIL in return of illegal gratification.
It is alleged that Kumar and Gaur met Ranganathan at his Noida residence on December 11 last year for discussing the proposal, the FIR alleged.
Two days later Gaur informed Kumar that proposal of discounts is being considered in GAIL, the FIR alleged.
In order to arrange bribes, Kumar got in touch with other prospective beneficiaries of discount, after the final decision is taken in GAIL on issuance of the discount order. Gaur, Kumar and Ranganathan again met at a five star hotel in Delhi on December 14 to discuss
it further.
