Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday filed a chargesheet against a former customs official for allegedly accepting a bribe of at least Rs 25 lakh to issue bogus shipping bills at at Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port in 2017. The chargesheet, which also names two other people involved in the case, was submitted before the Special Judge in Alibag.
A case was registered on February 12 against the main accused, who was posted as a Preventive Officer when the alleged crime had taken place. The case was registered based on the allegations of criminal conspiracy, misconduct by a public servant for demanding and accepting illegal gratification.
The central probe agnecy has alleged that the main accused, who was in charge of investigating fraudulent cases, came across a suspicious claim of a duty drawback based on bogus shipping bills. Instead of initiating any action, the official reached out to the private individual leading the syndicate and allegedly asked for Rs 1 crore to cover up the illegal operation.
After some negotiations, the officer agreed to accept Rs. 25 lakh in cash as bribe and an additional Rs.10,000 per bogus shipping bill to be submitted in the future. The bribe was delivered to the accused public servant through another person in instalments.
During the course of the investigation, the phones of accused were seized and some incriminating conversations, including negotiations between the former public servant and others for the bribe amount, were found.
