Bribery case: CBI recovers ₹1.42 cr in cash, gold biscuits

CBI recovers ₹1.42 crore cash, gold biscuits, and documents in bribery case involving FSSAI official and private firm officials in Thane.

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday recovered around ₹1.42 crore in cash, a laptop, two gold biscuits and some documents from the premises of one of the four accused persons arrested in connection with an alleged bribery case. The arrested accused in the case include an assistant director with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and three officials of a private firm which runs a laboratory in Thane.

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As reported by HT on May 7, three of the accused persons were allegedly nabbed red-handed, transacting ₹1.2 lakh in cash at a bar on Sunday. The money was being given to the FSSAI assistant director as a bribe to clear pending bills of the private firm, the agency stated.

Tuesday’s recoveries were made from the premises of the private firm’s senior manager, said a CBI source. The agency will ascertain the nature and origin of the recovered cash; if it is found to be unaccounted, the Income Tax department may be alerted for scrutiny, the source added.

The CBI had earlier conducted search operations at the office and residence of the accused persons, which led to the recovery of cash worth ₹37.3 lakh, 45 grams of gold, documents pertaining to multiple immovable assets and other purported incriminating papers, which are being scrutinised, said officials.

The laboratory owned by the private firm is notified by the FSSAI and it tests samples sent by the food safety regulator in lieu of relevant charges, said agency sources. On Saturday, the FSSAI assistant director (technical) Amol Jagtap, the firm’s director and the senior manager were booked by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to criminal conspiracy, bribing of a public servant, bribing of a public servant by a commercial organisation and abetment.

“The case was registered based on information from sources, alleging the FSSAI assistant director (technical) used to demand and accept bribes from food-business operators and other interested parties regularly in connivance with several middlemen,” said a CBI officer. It was also alleged that the accused FSSAI official had agreed to accept a bribe from the accused in lieu of clearance of their pending bills.

On Sunday, the CBI laid a trap and nabbed the FSSAI official when he was allegedly accepting ₹1.2 lakh from two of the accused firm officials. While both officials of the private firm were also arrested from the spot, its third official was arrested later. All the arrested accused were remanded in CBI’s custody till Wednesday after they were produced in court.