CBI arrests Delhi govt official for taking bribe from shopkeeper

New Delhi: A Delhi government official was arrested by the CBI for taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a central Delhi-based shop owner who wanted to reopen his two establishments that were sealed for alleged illegal construction, an official said on Friday.

The probe agency later recovered over Rs 3.5 crore from the home of the accused, the official said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) apprehended the accused Legal Officer of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), Vijay Maggo, after registering a case on Thursday.

Apart from the Legal Officer of DUSIB GNCTD, private person Satish and other unknown persons were booked on the basis of a complaint received on November 4, the CBI said.

Complainant Karan Gupta, son of Rajinder Kumar Gupta, was told to shell out the bribe for reopening his two shops in Paharganj -- Ministry of Cakes and Shree Sanwariya Sweets -- that were sealed by DUSIB for alleged illegal construction in July 2023.

Gupta had also named a director-level official of DUSIB in his complaint.

It was alleged that the accused Legal Officer demanded a bribe of Rs 40 lakh from the complainant in the name of another officer of DUSIB for getting his two shops unsealed and allowing him to run the shops without any hindrance.

The CBI laid a trap on Thursday and caught the accused Legal Officer of DUSIB red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from the complainant, the probe agency said in a statement.

The CBI also conducted searches at residential premises of the accused which led to recovery of Rs 3.79 crore cash and some property documents.

In a separate case related to Chandigarh, the CBI arrested two accused, including a Station Fire Officer (SFO) and another official of Fire Station Manimajra, Chandigarh, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 80,000 from an engineer working in a company dealing in fire safety equipment.

The CBI had registered a case on Thursday against the accused Station Fire Officer (SFO) of Fire Station Manimajra, Chandigarh on the basis of a written complaint by the engineer.

It was alleged that the complainant's company installed a firefighting and fire alarm system in a business premises in Chandigarh.

It was further alleged that the accused Station Fire Officer (SFO), Manimajra visited the premises and demanded Rs 1 lakh for issuing NOC for the said fire fighting and alarm system installed by the complainant’s company.

The CBI laid a trap on Thursday and caught the accused Lead Fireman red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 80,000 from the complainant at the behest of the accused SFO, Fire Station, Manimajra.

The CBI also conducted searches at the official and residential premises of both accused which led to recovery of Rs 4 lakh cash from the house of accused SFO.