CBI books deputy chief controller of explosives for criminal misconduct

CBI books Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives for amassing assets worth ₹1.43 crore disproportionate to his income; linked to previous corruption case.

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday booked a Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives, working with the Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for criminal misconduct by allegedly amassing assets worth ₹1.43 crore that were disproportionate to his known and legal sources of income.

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CBI sources revealed that the accused, currently stationed in Nagpur, purportedly acquired the assets between April 2021 and January of this year. During this period, he held positions as the Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives (Nagpur and Mumbai) and as the Controller of Explosives in Mumbai.

Between April 1, 2021, and January of this year, the officer allegedly gathered assets, both movable and immovable, in his and his family members’ names through corrupt means, as per CBI sources.

“During the check period, he amassed assets of around ₹1.43 crore that were disproportionate to his known source of income and were at around 141 percent to the total income earned by him through legal sources in that period,” a CBI source said.

The agency’s case under the Prevention of Corruption Act stems from source information and is linked to a previous corruption case where the accused officer, along with others, was arrested by the CBI’s Nagpur unit. This earlier case involved allegations of bribes being paid to certain PESO officers in Nagpur by private firms in exchange for favors, according to agency sources. The previous case was registered against one private individual and others.

Deshpande was purportedly arrested while accepting a bribe of ₹10 lakh from a private firm’s director to facilitate amendments in the firm’s licences by unidentified PESO officers. Following the incident, the CBI’s Nagpur unit seized cash amounting to ₹1.19 crore, along with gold coins and bars, and incriminating documents related to pending work with PESO from various firms. The private individual said that he had gathered ₹1.1 crore for PESO officers from different firms, retaining the amount at his residence. Allegedly, out of this sum, ₹4 lakh was intended for the accused officer, who has been charged with criminal misconduct by the CBI.