CBI nabs FSSAI officer accepting ₹1.2L bribe
3 officials of a pvt firm were also held for bribing the asst director in lieu of clearing pending bills
MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four persons, including an assistant director with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and three officials of a private firm which runs a laboratory in Thane, in connection with a bribery case. The accused were nabbed redhanded, transacting ₹1.2 lakh in cash at a bar on Sunday; the money was being given to the FSSAI assistant director as a bribe to clear pending bills of the private firm, said agency sources. All the arrested accused were remanded in CBI’S custody till Wednesday after they were produced in court.
The laboratory owned by the private firm is notified by the FSSAI and it tests samples sent by the food safety regulator in lieu of relevant charges, said agency sources. On Saturday, the firm’s director Vikas Bhardwaj, senior manager Harshal Chougule and another official, Gurunath Dubule, were booked by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to criminal conspiracy, bribing of a public servant, bribing of a public servant by a commercial organisation and abetment.
“The case was registered based on information from sources, alleging the FSSAI assistant director (technical) Amol Jagtap used to demand and accept bribes from foodbusiness operators and other interested parties regularly in connivance with several middlemen,” said a CBI officer. Jagtap had agreed to accept a bribe from the senior manager of the
CBI RECOVERED CASH WORTH ₹37.3 LAKH, 45 GRAMS GOLD AND PAPERS FOR IMMOVABLE ASSETS DURING SEARCH OPS
private firm in lieu of clearing their pending bills, and the transaction was likely to take place near Vashi railway station in Navi Mumbai, the sources further told CBI officials.
Based on the information, the CBI laid a trap and nabbed Jagtap when he was accepting ₹1.2 lakh from Chougle and Dubule at a bar on Sunday. While both officials of the private firm were also arrested from the spot, its director Vikas Bhardwaj was arrested later.
The CBI subsequently conducted search operations at the office and residence of the accused, which led to the recovery of cash worth ₹37.3 lakh, 45 gram of gold, documents pertaining to multiple immovable assets and other purported incriminating papers, which are being scrutinised, said officials.