The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a charge sheet against four officers for allegedly running a “bribe-for-relief” racket within the agency.
The accused officers were identified as Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), RK Sangwan and RK Rishi, inspector Kapil Dhankad and stenographer Sameer Kumar Singh. While Singh was arrested on Thursday and sent to judicial custody, the other three officers were arrested in January.
The agency has said that the accused officers were leaking confidential information to companies under investigation for bank frauds since 2018.
According to the FIR, reviewed by HT, the four officers, along with two advocates and some other accused were “compromising the integrity of the investigation of certain cases on extraneous pecuniary considerations”.
“Details of the investigation of many other cases, including confidential notes and directions, have been communicated by (Sameer Kumar) Singh to Sangwan and Rishi on pecuniary considerations to protect the interests of the accused,” the FIR stated. The agency has also identified bribes worth ₹55 lakh paid to Rishi ( ₹30 lakh) and Dhankad ( ₹25 lakh).
The two DSPs facilitated the bribes by leaking the information to the companies under investigation, said an officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“The leak of sensitive case-related information like raids, status of investigation, filing of charge sheet, etc., helps accused persons in destroying the evidence. There is a possibility that more officers are involved in the scandal as CBI investigations are monitored at various levels and documents are usually kept in respective branches. It is to be seen how Singh was leaking the documents without anyone’s knowledge,” a CBI officer had told HT in January.
{{/usCountry}}“The leak of sensitive case-related information like raids, status of investigation, filing of charge sheet, etc., helps accused persons in destroying the evidence. There is a possibility that more officers are involved in the scandal as CBI investigations are monitored at various levels and documents are usually kept in respective branches. It is to be seen how Singh was leaking the documents without anyone’s knowledge,” a CBI officer had told HT in January.
{{/usCountry}}The accused persons’ legal representatives could not be reached for comments.