Three customs and central excise officials convicted in bribery case by special CBI court in Haryana

CHANDIGARH: The Special CBI court for Haryana in Panchkula on Wednesday convicted three officials of the Customs and Central Excise Department after they were found guilty in a case of bribery registered against them.

The decision came from the court of Rajiv Goyal, the Special CBI Judge, in the presence of the convicts identified as Anil Kumar and Ajay Kumar, the then superintendents, and Ravinder Singh Dahiya, an inspector, who were posted in the audit department of the Customs and Central Excise wing at Sonipat.

According to information, the trio demanded a bribe of Rs 10 lakh to settle a dispute involving Deepak Jain, the owner of Precision Component Pvt Ltd in the Rai industrial area of Sonipat. Meanwhile, Jain approached the CBI, and a trap was laid.

The three officials negotiated to decrease the bribe money to be paid in two installments, and Anil Kumar even demanded a costly mobile handset. Notably, Jain faced a penalty of around Rs 30 lakh for evasion due to double billing.

During the trap, the money was recovered from the car of the accused, and accordingly, the court started their trial. In July 2017, the CBI filed a chargesheet against them.

More interestingly, during the course of the trial, the complainant Deepak Jain turned hostile and gave a statement in favour of the accused. However, the court relied upon the documentary and circumstantial evidence.

"The court appreciated the evidence on record and the arguments made by the prosecution in the case. Now, the court shall announce the quantum of their sentence on February 3," said Harsh Mohan Singh, the Senior CBI Prosecutor.