CBI arrests customs DC, Superintendent in bribery case
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three public servants, including a Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Customs, a Superintendent, and an official of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Tughlakabad, Delhi, along with two private individuals, including a Customs House Agent (CHA), in a bribery case involving favours for a Mumbai-based firm.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Om Prakash Bisht, Deputy Commissioner, ICD, Tughlakabad, Delhi; Amit Kumar, Superintendent, ICD, Tughlakabad, Delhi; Bijender Kumar, peon of Om Prakash Bisht, Deputy Commissioner, ICD, Tughlakabad, Delhi; Ashok Yadav, Customs House Agent of Ashoka Logistics Solutions, Samalkha, Delhi; Ravi Kant Mishra, employee of Ashoka Logistics Solutions, Samalkha, Delhi; Umacharan Majhi, employee of Radha Marketing, Mumbai; Kuldeep Kumar, a private person.
The CBI registered a case on September 6 against these accused, including unknown public servants and private individuals. The accused public servants allegedly demanded and accepted illegal gratification from the CHA in exchange for imposing reduced penalties on the Mumbai-based firm. It was also alleged that the officials were habitually demanding bribes from private parties to clear pending import/export consignments and customs bonds. Investigations revealed that the accused DC and the official of ICD were in regular contact with the CHA and the employee of the Delhi-based firm, facilitating customs clearance for consignments in exchange for bribes. The illegal payments were allegedly collected through bank transfers and subsequently delivered to the DC.
On Monday, the CHA reportedly requested the DC to impose minimal penalties on the bills of the Mumbai-based firm, to which the DC agreed in exchange for a bribe. The DC imposed a penalty of Rs 70,000 and demanded immediate payment of the bribe. On September 3, the Mumbai firm’s employee contacted the CHA to arrange the delivery of the bribe to the DC and the Superintendent of Customs. On September 5, the CHA allegedly delivered Rs 50,000 to the superintendent through an employee of the Delhi-based firm at ICD Tughlakabad. The remaining amount was to be delivered to the DC the following day. The CBI laid a trap on September 6, apprehending the DC, ICD official Bijender and CHA Ashok in exchange of Rs 72,000 in bribes. Superintendent of Customs Amit was also arrested for allegedly accepting Rs 50,000 on September 5. All arrested individuals were presented before the Special Judge for CBI Cases at Rouse Avenue Court, New Delhi, and were remanded to police custody until 14 September 14.
Search operations were conducted across nine locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Faridabad, Gurugram, Raigarh, and Kinnaur (HP), leading to the recovery of incriminating documents and approximately Rs 19.25 lakh in cash.
