CBI registers another case against an Assistant Director of ED in Shimla for demanding bribe

Shimla: According to authorities on Monday, the CBI has filed one more formal complaint in relation to a purported bribery scandal involving the assistant director of the Enforcement Directorate, who was stationed in Shimla and who fled during an agency trap operation last week.

According to them, the CBI has now filed two formal complaints, one against the founders of educational institutions in Himachal Pradesh for allegedly demanding bribes totaling Rs 85 lakh and another against them for Rs 80 lakh.

In a news conference in Shimla, the promoters—who were also the complainants in the case—claimed that the assistant director had called them to work, tortured them, and demanded money.

They said that the officer and two of his employees forced us to wait in the Shimla ED office for hours on end while they insisted on collecting money.

According to the CBI, three suspects are being investigated in this case; the accused’s brother and a middleman have already been taken into custody, while the officer is reportedly on the run and has not yet cooperated with the investigation.

An educational institute promoter who is being investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) allegedly paid a bribe to the Shimla-based Enforcement Directorate (ED) assistant director and his brother, a senior manager at the Punjab National Bank in Delhi, at a place close to Chandigarh, according to the officials.

The issue concerns scholarship fraud that occurred in Himachal Pradesh after matriculation.

The Chandigarh unit of the CBI organized the trap operation after the owner of the educational institution complained to the agency about alleged extortion. According to the officials, the complainant was asked to pay the officer Rs 55 lakh in cash as part of the operation, while CBI detectives watched.

They said that when the accused got the money, the CBI would apprehend him.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) delegation ED officer was informed during the operation and reportedly ran away, according to the authorities.

For seven days, the agency has been attempting to find him.

According to the authorities, searches have reportedly turned up cash totaling around Rs 1 crore so far, including the bribe money.

The accused assistant director of the ED’s Shimla sub-zonal office, together with his supervisory officials, a deputy director and the joint director (located in Chandigarh), have been sent to Delhi as a result of the case, according to ED sources.