Delhi Cop Demanded Rs 3 Crore Bribe To Influence CBI's Fake Drugs Probe

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has blown the lid off a major corruption network during its probe into a Rs 5,000-crore fake medicine racket in Puducherry. A Delhi police inspector and his associate have been arrested for allegedly promising relief in the CBI case in exchange for crores in bribes.

Delhi Police Crime Branch Inspector Pradeep Kumar Singh and Rajkumar had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 3 crore from the main accused, N Raja alias Valliappan, according to the FIR. Of this, Rs 1.5 crore was to be paid in advance.

Raja sent Rs 1 crore to Singh in Delhi through hawala channels and started arranging for the rest of the funds, the investigation has revealed. Singh allegedly handed over Rs 50 lakh to a person named Prabhat. During a subsequent raid, Singh and Rajkumar were arrested with Rs 24.70 lakh in cash.

Raja was allegedly assured that favourable outcomes could be secured in the cases by leveraging influence over CBI officers and powerful government officials.

According to the CBI, a meeting was arranged on May 14 at Aerocity in Delhi between Raja, Rajkumar, a senior government official, and others. During their meeting, the official allegedly assured them he could secure them the outcome they wanted.

On June 9, the CBI produced Singh and Rajkumar before the Rouse Avenue Court and sought seven days' custody to identify other government officials involved in the case, trace the trail of the bribe amount, and examine digital evidence.

The court, however, sent them to one day's police custody.

During the hearing, Singh's counsel claimed that he had been falsely implicated in the case and that he had not demanded a bribe from anyone.

The Puducherry spurious drug scam is one of the country's largest pharmaceutical fraud cases. According to investigative agencies, fake drugs were being manufactured and supplied on a massive scale through this network.

The CBI is now working to uncover who else had been involved in this bribery scheme aimed at shielding the accused and influencing the investigation.