CBI finds Rs 85 lakh cash from customs officer's locker

The Central Bureau of Investigation, on Thursday, found cash worth Rs 85 lakh and property documents amounting to crores from the lockers of two customs officer, who are being investigated in a case of alleged corruption.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, on Thursday, found cash worth Rs 85 lakh and property documents amounting to crores from the lockers of two customs officer, who are being investigated in a case of alleged corruption.

The agency, on Wednesday, registered a case arising out of allegedly dubious remittances worth Rs 8,000 crore received by a businessman Sahdev Gupta from fraudulent exports on which he had claimed duty drawback of Rs 300 crore, sources said.

The DRI, during its probe, allegedly found that companies to whom the exports were claimed to have been made denied giving any such orders whereas Rs 8,000 crore was received by Gupta in his accounts.

"It is further alleged that in order to favour the private person, the said public servants deliberately did not suspend the duty drawback of the firms immediately and ensured that the amounts claimed by the firms as duty drawback are transferred to their bank accounts."

"The act of the said public servants allegedly resulted into a wrongful revenue loss of Rs 74.61 crore (approximately) to the government and corresponding gain to the private parties," CBI spokesperson said.

The CBI, on Thursday, started opening lockers of the two officers customs commissioner Atul Dixit, 1988-batch officer, and the then deputy commissioner Nalin Kumar.

In Kumar's lockers, the agency claimed to have found Rs 85 lakh of cash while Dixit's lockers led to recovery of documents of three properties in Gurgaon, Greater Noida and Lucknow worth crores besides heavy jewellery, sources claimed.