CBI Mumbai officer, who led several high-profile probes, gets President’s police medal for meritorious service

Senior IPS officer Dr. Sadanand Date receives the President’s police medal for meritorious service for his role in anti-corruption efforts at CBI.

MUMBAI: Senior IPS officer Dr Sadanand Shankarrao Date, who headed the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) anti-corruption branch in Mumbai as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) for nearly three years and supervised several high-profile probes, has been awarded the President’s police medal for meritorious service on the occasion of Republic Day, to be observed on Monday.

CBI Mumbai officer, who led several high-profile probes, gets President’s police medal for meritorious service

Date, a 2007-batch IPS officer of the Uttarakhand cadre, was associated with multiple investigations during his stint with the agency, including the September 2024 alleged bribery case involving senior Central GST (CGST) officials in Mumbai. The case had led to the arrest of six CGST officers, an additional commissioner, a joint commissioner and four superintendents, after a businessman accused them of illegal confinement, intimidation and extortion.

These “preventive–vigilance” instructions were issued then by KR Uday Bhaskar, the then chief commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Mumbai zone.

Within weeks of the CBI registering the case, the CGST Mumbai zone introduced a string of preventive vigilance measures to curb corruption and arbitrary conduct at its offices, including installing CCTV cameras and tightening procedures for issuing summonses and warrants, officials said.

Before joining the IPS, Date completed his MBBS from Mumbai’s Grant Government Medical College and Sir J J Group of Hospitals. A native of Nashik in Maharashtra, he has also recently completed a Master of Laws (LLM). He concluded his seven-year stint with the CBI on August 14, 2025, after which he returned to his cadre to serve with the Uttarakhand police.

CBI sources described Date as an officer known for integrity and a meticulous, no-nonsense approach. During his posting in Mumbai, he also focused on expanding the agency’s pool of informants by holding awareness meetings with stakeholders and urging citizens to report corruption in central government offices. The outreach included bulk text messages sent through mobile service providers and pamphlets carrying contact details of nodal officers of the anti-corruption branch.

CGST bribery case

On September 5, 2024, the CBI registered an FIR against eight accused, including six CGST officials, based on a complaint filed by a businessman who runs a pharmaceutical trading firm. The complainant alleged that when he visited the CGST office in Santacruz on the evening of September 4, he was confined there for around 18 hours and subjected to force and verbal abuse by four officials of superintendent rank.

The businessman alleged the officials initially demanded a bribe of ₹80 lakh to avoid arrest and secure favourable treatment in an ongoing tax evasion probe. The demand was later reduced to ₹60 lakh, of which ₹50 lakh was allegedly paid. Investigators said the bribe was routed through an accused chartered accountant, while a portion was allegedly channelled through a hawala operator.

During trap proceedings, the CBI initially arrested three accused, including a CGST superintendent, along with two private individuals, including the chartered accountant, while allegedly accepting a part payment of ₹20 lakh. Investigators later recovered and seized ₹30 lakh that had allegedly been paid earlier through the hawala route.

Following the case, the CGST Mumbai zone decided to equip its offices with CCTV cameras and introduced tighter supervision over enforcement action. As part of the revised protocol, officials were instructed to keep senior officers of commissioner rank informed while issuing summonses and warrants during assessment proceedings. Taxpayers and assessees were to be allowed to leave office premises by around 7pm to 7.30pm, with commissioner-level approval mandated if a person needed to be kept beyond those hours, an official said.

The measures followed a recommendation by the CBI to install CCTV cameras. During corruption probes, the agency had found that the CGST offices in Santacruz and Nariman Point did not have CCTV coverage at the time, sources said.

Other major anti-corruption probes

During Date’s tenure, the CBI also carried out joint surprise checks with internal vigilance authorities at public sector and government offices where complaints of collusive corruption had emerged, sources said.

In June 2024, the CBI registered 12 corruption cases against 14 officials, including passport assistants posted at Passport Seva Kendras in Lower Parel and Malad, along with 18 passport agents. The investigation alleged that certain employees conspired with agents to facilitate issuance of passports based on incomplete or falsified documents.

In April 2025, the agency registered 11 corruption cases against 15 officers from the Pay and Accounts section at the Artillery/Army Aviation Centre (AAC) in Nashik, under the Ministry of Defence’s Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA). The officers were accused of demanding and accepting bribes, often through middlemen, from army personnel for disbursing allowances and entitlements.

Apart from Date, 30 other CBI officers from across the country have also been awarded the President’s police medal for distinguished service and the police medal for meritorious service. The recipients include Dharmendra Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Bank Securities and Fraud Branch, CBI Mumbai, and Sharad Suresh Bhawar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Special Unit, CBI Mumbai.