CBI inspector bribery case: ACB conducts search at officer’s house

Jaipur: A day after CBI inspector Prakash Chand went missing after his middleman was arrested for demanding Rs 1.5 crore bribe, the Rajasthan ACB conducted searches at the officer’s house and other places belonging to him. There were reports that the ACB has recovered documents suggesting ownership of properties worth crores of rupees. There were also reports that the inspector was suspended by the CBI.

ADG, ACB Alok Tripathi said that a 75-year-old office-bearer of a housing cooperative society had registered a complaint against CBI inspector Prakash Chand for threatening him to implicate in a fraud case if the elderly man didn’t pay him Rs 1.5 crore.

Prakash Chand was investigating a case pertaining to Mother Teresa Nagar on the direction of the Rajasthan high court. Some other housing cooperative society had issued land deeds for this colony. Three FIRs were registered and the high court handed over the case to the CBI for investigation. Prakash was allegedly threatening the ACB complainant that he would frame him even when he was not an accused in the case.

The complaint was verified by the ACB following which a trap was laid. On Thursday, the ACB trapped middleman Shantilal Aanchalia who was allegedly taking bribe on behalf of Prakash Chand and recovered a cash amount of Rs 30 lakh and 11 self cheques of Rs 45 lakh from his possession.

Sources said that the ACB carried out searches at Prakash Chand’s house. He has gone missing and was not available for questioning, Tripathi said.