Odisha: CBI Arrests ED Deputy Director For Demanding Rs 5 Crore Bribe To Settle Case
Dhenkanal, Odisha: Following an Odisha-based businessman’s complaint, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday, May 30, arrested Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Chintan Raghuvanshi, posted in the state, in an alleged bribery case.
The businessman, Ratikanta Rout, had accused the ED officer of soliciting bribes to resolve a case against him. The 2013-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, Raghuvanshi, was exposed in a special trap operation after he allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 20 lakh as a first installment from a Bhubaneswar-based entrepreneur.
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Rout, who runs a stone mining business in Dhenkanal, approached the CBI after being summoned by the ED in March this year. The CBI-led operation led to the ED officer’s arrest in connection with the incident. After taking the officer for questioning, Raghuvanshi was placed under the central agency’s arrest.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the ED officer initially demanded a Rs 5 crore bribe and later agreed to settle for Rs 2 crore. Raghuvanshi was reportedly caught red-handed while receiving the first installment of Rs 20 lakh during the trap laid by the CBI. The central agency has booked him under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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In the FIR, the business executive alleged that the ED officer directed him to meet a person named Bhaghti for relief in the probe into his firm during his visit to the ED office, according to a report by news agency PTI. Bhaghti then maintained contact with Rout and pressured him to pay the bribe via FaceTime calls. Bhaghti allegedly met the business executive on May 27 and said that Raghuvanshi had demanded ₹5 crore to settle the case and not to arrest him.
According to reports, as the business executive conveyed his inability to pay the huge amount, Bhaghti facilitated a direct conversation between the Rout and the ED officer during which the demand was reduced to Rs 2 crore, the news agency reported.
