ED deputy director arrested in Odisha by CBI on charges of bribery
remanded in 14-day judicial custody
New Delhi/Bhubaneswar, May 30 (PTI): The CBI has arrested Chintan Raghuvanshi, deputy director of the Enforcement Directorate in Odisha, for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a businessman based in Bhubaneswar, officials said on Friday.
The 2013-batch Indian Revenue Service officer from the Customs and Indirect Tax stream had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 5 crore from businessman Ratikanta Rout for giving him relief in an ongoing ED investigation against him, according to a complaint received by the CBI, which is now a part of the FIR.
During negotiations, the officer allegedly agreed to reduce the amount to Rs 2 crore, with the condition that the first installment of Rs 50 lakh had to be paid to the middleman by Thursday evening, the complaint said.
A CBI team set a trap in Bhubaneswar on Thursday after receiving a complaint from Rout about the bribe payment. When Rout paid Rs 20 lakh, of the total Rs 50 lakh, to the middleman, the team swung into action and arrested the middleman.
Later, Raghuvanshi was also arrested following extensive questioning and produced before a special CBI court on Friday, the officials said.
The ED officer's lawyer, Siddhant Mohanty, said in Bhubaneswar that a special CBI court has remanded Raghuvanshi in judicial custody for 14 days.
"However, his bail petition has not been rejected. It will be heard on June 4," Mohanty said.
Raghuvanshi had allegedly demanded the bribe to settle an ongoing ED investigation against Rout. The ED had registered a case in 2020 against Rout, who has a stone crusher and mining business in Dhenkanal.
The ED had searched his premises in January, followed by a summons to appear for questioning in March, the officials said.
When Rout appeared for questioning at the ED office in Bhubaneswar, Raghuvanshi allegedly called him to his chamber and asked him to meet one Bhaghti to get "relief" in the case, the businessman alleged in the complaint given to the CBI.
Rout had alleged that since then, Bhaghti had been in contact with him, pressuring him over FaceTime to pay Raghuvanshi to settle the matter, according to the FIR.
Bhaghti allegedly met Rout on May 27, where he said that Raghuvanshi had demanded Rs 5 crore for "not attaching his hospital, not arresting him, and settling his case", the FIR said.
Rout expressed his inability to arrange such a large sum, and then Bhagti made him speak to Raghuvanshi, who reduced the demand to Rs 2 crore, with the first installment of Rs 50 lakh to be paid on Thursday evening, it said.
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Brothers awaiting board exam results drown in canal
Erode (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): Minor brothers who were awaiting their board exam results have drowned in a canal in this district while spending their Summer holidays at their aunt's place, police said.
According to Arachalure Police, Santhosh, aged 17, and his younger brother Sanjai, aged 15, natives of Musiri village in Tiruchirapalli district, came to Gopaliparai hamlet near Arachalure to their Aunt's house a couple of days ago after writing their annual 12th and 10th examinations, respectively.
The police said on Friday that both boys went to the nearby Lower Bhavani Project canal to take a bath. It was alleged that while taking a bath, both boys went to a deeper area of the canal and went missing.
As they didn't return home, even two hours after they left, their aunt grew suspicious and informed the Fire and Rescue Services, Chennimalai. A rescue team from the department rushed to the spot. After a few minutes of searching, they located the dead bodies of the brothers and sent them to the hospital. Arachalure police registered a case of death due to drowning and are investigating.
