An assistant director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) posted at Shimla allegedly went to Chandigarh to receive bribe money from a business person.
Officials told PTI that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched the residence of an assistant director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Shimla. The director managed to evade capture during a trap operation on Sunday.
The officials claimed that the assistant director, along with his brother Vikas Deep, a senior manager in Punjab National Bank, Delhi, had gone to Chandigarh to collect bribe money from the businessman, who is a respondent in a case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The businessman complained to the CBI, alleging extortion. The Chandigarh unit of the agency planned an operation to nab the ED officer by instructing the complainant to hand over a bribe of ₹55 lakh in cash to the officer, with CBI officials monitoring the situation. Officials told PT that the plan was to apprehend the accused after he allegedly accepted the bribe.
During the operation, however, the ED officer, on deputation from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), sensed it was a trap and reportedly fled with the cash, officials said.
The CBI searched for him for six days and even employed technical surveillance to trace his location, but attempts to catch the ED officer failed.
The officials said cash of approximately ₹1 crore, along with the bribe money, has been recovered. The officer, who was absconding in the vehicle, left that at the ED office, too.
The CBI arrested Vikas Deep, the brother of the assistant director in this case, and brought him to Court. He is currently being questioned on his role in this case.
