CBI probing SP, 3 others in bribery case involving caterer at govt club

NEWDELHI: The Central bureau of investigation (CBI) is probing one of its own superintendent of police (SP) rank officers in connection with the Palika Services Officers Institute (PSOI) bribery case, an official familiar with the matter said on Monday.

“The SP rank officer has faced allegations of doubtful integrity earlier also. Besides him, an additional SP rank official and two inspectors of the agency are also under the scanner in the case. One of the inspector rank officials was associated with the probe against former high court judge IM Quddusi,” said the official. He did not want to be named.

BESIDES THE SP RANK OFFICER, AN ASSISTANT RANK SP AND TWO INPECTOR RANK OFFICIALS ARE ALSO UNDER INVESTIGATION

The official added that call detail records of all the four suspects are being scrutinised.

A CBI spokesperson refused to offer any comment.

Earlier this month, the agency had arrested Rakesh Tiwari, entrusted with providing catering services at the PSOI at Chanakyapuri’s Nehru Park, on charges of seeking a bribe of ₹35 lakh for influencing the agency’s officials to dilute an investigation against Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Vivek Batra. Batra has been accused twice twice – in 2005 and 2017 — by the CBI of amassing disproportionate assets.

Besides Tiwari, the agency had also arrested Neeraj Kochhar, chairman and managing director of a steel product manufacturing firm, who allegedly acted as the middleman in the deal. The agency, in its FIR, has accused Tiwari and Kochhar of conspiring to influence unknown CBI officials. The investigating agency has not revealed the identity of these officials.

As HT had reported earlier, till last year, Tiwari used to handle catering services at the CBI cafeteria as well.

So far, the agency has recovered around ₹3.6 crore in cash, 21 Rolex watches and jewellery worth ₹1.5 crore from different premises owned by Tiwari.

Investigators have also recovered documents pertaining to several other cases of the agency from premises belonging to Tiwari which has raised suspicions that he may have been involved in influencing other cases as well, said the official.

Another CBI official familiar with the probe said the agency is also looking into the circumstances in which Tiwari was given the catering contract for the PSOI by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).