CBI court grants bail to seven accused in Customs bribe case at Mumbai

The accused had demanded ₹25 lakh from complainant to release his imported consignment from Navkar Container Freight Station.

The special CBI court on Saturday granted bail to seven accused booked for demanding ₹25 lakh to release consignments of imported goods from Customs.

HT File/Representational Image

The CBI had earlier this week, arrested seven people – Mukesh Meena (rummaging and intelligence), Rajeev Kumar Singh (marine and preventive), Sudarshan Meena (special intelligence and investigation branch), Sandeep Yadav (Deputy Commissioner, customs), Manish Singh (Preventive officer of customs) Nilesh Singh (businessman) and Akshat Rathod, an officer from the Customs department.

The accused were remanded to judicial custody on Friday after a court rejected the CBI’s plea for further custody. Soon after the order, their lawyers moved a bail plea on Friday. The court, while accepting the plea asked CBI to file the reply and scheduled its hearing for Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, the agency approached HC against the order of the CBI court, for refusing custody of the accused.

On Saturday, while hearing the bail plea, the CBI sought time to file reply and asked the court to adjourn the hearing till the hearing of their petition before the HC. However, the CBI court rejected their plea and continued to hear the bail plea.

Counsel for CBI Ashok Bagaria pleaded that the accused should not be released on bail as the agency is still in the process of investigation. However, the CBI court granted bail to the accused. According to CBI, Mukesh, Singh and Datta Sonawane, another accused, had on April 19, demanded ₹25 lakh from the complainant to release his imported consignment from Navkar Container Freight Station.