The CBI has arrested IPS officer Deepak Kahlawat in connection with an alleged Rs 3 crore bribery demand linked to a case on counterfeit medicine manufacturing. Investigators say the money was sought to act favourably in the probe involving a Puducherry-based businessman.
According to the case details, the CBI had earlier registered an FIR against businessman Raja over allegations of producing fake drugs. Raja is said to have approached Delhi Crime Branch inspector Pradeep Singh for help in avoiding legal action.
The inspector allegedly arranged a meeting between Raja and IPS officer Kahlawat. During the meeting, Kahlawat is accused of demanding Rs 3 crore and asking for an advance of Rs 1.5 crore. Raja allegedly raised Rs 1 crore through hawala and handed it to Pradeep Singh, with Rs 50 lakh reportedly passed on to a middleman named Prabhat.
In a search conducted last month at Pradeep Singh’s office, the CBI seized Rs 1.15 crore in cash and related documents, and arrested the inspector, a broker named Rajkumar and three others. Based on subsequent questioning, the agency arrested Kahlawat, a 2012 Haryana cadre officer who was serving as a regional officer in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security at the time of the alleged incident.
The CBI also carried out searches at multiple locations linked to Kahlawat and seized digital devices and hard disks. He was produced before a special court, which granted the CBI one-day custody for further interrogation.
