A CBI court on Wednesday received sanction to prosecute Enforcement Directorate officer Vishal Deep in connection with the Himachal scholarship scam. The prosecution sanction has been accorded by principal commissioner of customs (general), Mumbai, zone 1, Rajan Chaudhery, and Punjab National Bank’s general manager (HRD) at New Delhi head office Amarendra Kumar. Both have been made prosecution witnesses in the case.
While passing the order, the court stated, “Sanction orders in respect of accused Vikas Deep and Vishal Deep be taken on record and the name of (above mentioned) witnesses be included in the list of prosecution witnesses.”
The case has now been adjourned to September 5.
According to the FIR registered in December 2024, complainant Rajnish Bansal, chairman, Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions, Kala Amb, Sirmaur district, stated that a case was registered at the Enforcement Directorate office in Shimla against his institution and the same was being investigated by Vishal Deep, assistant director, Enforcement Directorate, Shimla, and Niraj, ED enforcement officer, Shimla. Both Vikas and Niraj, whose bail pleas have been repeatedly dismissed by subordinate and higher courts, are relatives of Vishal Deep.
The complainant further alleged that he was called to the ED office, Shimla, on December 10 and 19, 2024, for examination. Subsequently, Niraj interrogated him and demanded a bribe of ₹20 lakh for not arresting him. Thereafter, he was produced before Vishal Deep in his office chamber, who during examination also demanded ₹1.10 crore from the complainant, which on negotiation was settled at ₹60 lakh, and that he would collect the bribe amount from him in Chandigarh.
{{/usCountry}}The complainant further alleged that he was called to the ED office, Shimla, on December 10 and 19, 2024, for examination. Subsequently, Niraj interrogated him and demanded a bribe of ₹20 lakh for not arresting him. Thereafter, he was produced before Vishal Deep in his office chamber, who during examination also demanded ₹1.10 crore from the complainant, which on negotiation was settled at ₹60 lakh, and that he would collect the bribe amount from him in Chandigarh.
{{/usCountry}}The CBI had laid a trap and arrested the accused involved in the case, including the ED officers. On completion of the investigation, a chargesheet dated February 21 was filed against Vishal Deep, CBI DSP Balbir Singh and Niraj.
The CBI had arrested Vishal Deep on January 8 from Andheri West, alleging his involvement in bribery cases linked to two FIRs. While one FIR was registered by the CBI, the other another was registered by the Panchkula police.