New Delhi: The CBI on Saturday arrested former Assistant Director in Enforcement Directorate, N B Singh, for allegedly receiving Rs 4 lakh of Rs 50 lakh bribe amount from an accused in the National Rural Health Mission scam.
Singh, who was posted in the Lucknow office of the ED, along with a middleman Subhash was allegedly threatening to attach properties of an accused in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam.
They were demanding Rs 50 lakh bribe to be ‘lenient' in the matter. The officer was relieved by the Enforcement Directorate on May 18, but he continued going to office on the pretext of formalities of handing over the charge, the sources said.
They said the duo was arrested following a trap operation by the CBI, while they were receiving Rs 4 lakh as part payment of the total bribe amount.
Singh belongs to the Central Excise and Customs service and was deputed in the ED. He was handling certain cases of the NRHM scam. The ED is also mulling to register a money laundering case against him.
The CBI had registered the case based on a complaint from one Surendra Chowdhary, who is facing the agency probe in one of the cases related to the scam.
Chowdhary in his complaint to the CBI said Singh had called him in the office, accusing him of causing loss to the tune of Rs 21 crore to the exchequer.
He apparently clarified that the loss was not of Rs 21 crore and was merely Rs 2 crore, and that he had deposited the same in a CBI court.
Chowdhary also told the official (Singh) that even the Allahabad High Court had not pegged the loss to the exchequer at Rs 21 crore.
Despite arguments put forth by Chowdhary, Singh called him in his office where alleged middleman Subhash was also present, and demanded Rs 50 lakh as bribe to not arrest Chowdhary and attach his assets, the complaint alleged.
Chowdhary said he did not have that much money which left Singh infuriated, it alleged.
Subhash allegedly took Chowdhary outside the office in Hazratganj area in his car where he told him to make the payment to avoid trouble. The duo kept pestering Chowdhary and his brother over phone to make the payment, it alleged.
On June 10, nearly 20 days after Singh being relieved from the ED, Subhash called Chowdhary asking him to make the payment of Rs five lakh immediately to avoid arrest and also buy two iPhones from a particular store in Lucknow, he alleged.
He said the receipt for the shop had already been prepared and Chowdhary needed to make the payment in the shop's account at Axis bank, the complaint said.
In his complaint, Chowdhary provided a copy of the SMS on which the account number of the shop was sent. After verifying the complaint, the CBI laid down a trap and arrested Singh and Subhash red-handed while they were receiving Rs 4 lakh of the alleged bribe amount.
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