CBI raids Ferozepur IG’S houses after middleman nabbed with ₹10-lakh bribe

PROBE AGENCY SAID LUDHIANABASED MIDDLEMAN HAD ACCEPTED BRIBE ON BEHALF OF IG GURINDER DHILLON

PATIALA/FEROZEPUR/CHANDIGARH: The CBI on Friday arrested a middleman for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹10 lakh on behalf of an inspector general of police posted in Ferozepur.

The action was taken on the complaint of a retired SSP, vigilance bureau, Patiala. The middleman, identified as Ashok Goyal, a Ludhiana-based businessman, was caught accepting the bribe on behalf of Gurinder Dhillon, Ferozepur Range IG, said a CBI spokesperson.

The probe agency also carried out searches at Dhillon’s house in Patiala and his official residence in Ferozepur after Goyal named him during interrogation. The CBI also questioned Dhillon.

“It was alleged that the complainant, former SSP Shiv Kumar Sharma, was being falsely implicated in a case registered against him, for which an SIT was formed by the Ferozepur IG. It was further alleged that the SIT had searched the house of the complainant and seized certain documents and articles,” a CBI spokesperson said.

He said it was also alleged that the bribe was being demanded from the complainant for diluting the case and for returning the seized documents and articles.

On getting inputs about the planned transaction, the agency laid a trap and arrested Goyal in Ludhiana. “Searches conducted at Goyal’s house also led to the recovery of ₹5 lakh which was allegedly accepted as first instalment of bribe at Chandigarh,” the spokesperson added.

The CBI has recorded phone calls of Goyal in which he is demanding bribe from Sharma on behalf of Dhillon. Initially, a bribe of ₹1 crore was demanded and later the amount was settled at ₹22 lakh.

In his complaint to the CBI, Sharma alleged that on August 9, he met Goyal at a Chandigarh hotel around 3 pm where the latter took Rs five lakh from him. Sharma told the CBI that he had the money under duress. He said Dhillon had made him the main accused in the case involving torture of patwari Mohan Singh. Sharma was earlier absolved of these charges.

However, after an inquiry, Dhillon renamed him in the case. Currently, Sharma is out on interim bail.

CBI DIG Tarun Gaba had handed over the SSP’S complaint to his team. In their report, CBI officials said the phone conversation between Sharma and Goyal clearly substantiate the demand of bribe by Goyal on IG’S behalf.

The CBI then registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and and caught Goyal.

Dhillon, on his part, alleged that it was an attempt by Sharma to put pressure on him. “I have answered all queries posed by the CBI. Sharma wants to mount pressure on me to drop the probe, but I will do my duty as per the law,” he said.

Meanwhile, Goyal was produced in a CBI court that remanded him in three-day police custody.