Mumbai court orders release of ED official held in bribery case, finds his arrest illegal

Mumbai, Jan 8 (PTI) A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday rejected the CBI plea for transit remand of an Enforcement Directorate (ED) official held in an alleged corruption case filed in Chandigarh, and ordered his release after accepting defence argument of the arrest being illegal.

The CBI's Chandigarh unit arrested Vishal Deep, Assistant Director, ED (Shimla), from Mumbai on Tuesday on corruption charges stemming from the Enforcement Directorate's probe against Himalayan group of professional institutions.

The central probe agency produced him before a special CBI court in Mumbai for transit remand to take him to Chandigarh.

The CBI claimed Deep demanded Rs 1.10 crore bribe from Himalayan group of professional institutions chairman Rajnish Bansal for not arresting him in a money laundering case being probed by the ED.

The amount was negotiated down to Rs 60 lakh, the probe agency said.

There is a recording of accused Deep talking to the complainant before the delivery of the bribe amount and he was present near the spot where the bribe was handed over to co-accused Vikas Deep (brother) and Niraj (cousin) by the complainant, the CBI claimed.

The probe agency further submitted that after collecting the bribe amount on December 22, 2024, near Panchkula in Haryana, the accused fled the spot and switched off his mobile to hide himself from the process of law.

The accused continuously kept changing his locations and mobile phones to evade/abscond from the investigation of the case. After strenuous efforts the accused Deep was traced at an apartment in suburban Mumbai on Tuesday and placed under arrest, said the CBI.

The probe agency sought his transit remand, saying investigation was yet at initial stage and documents pertaining to the case were yet to be recovered.

Deep's lawyers, Rahul Agarwal and Jasmin Purani, however, contended their client has been implicated in a false case by the complainant (Rajnish Bansal) in collusion with CBI officials.

Deep claimed he has already filed a police complaint against the complainant (Bansal) and some officials of the CBI.

He cited a recent Supreme Court judge and submitted there was non-compliance of provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) on arresting accused persons.

The defence then submitted before the court that the CBI application for transit remand deserves to be dismissed as their client's arrest itself was illegal.

Accepting the defence contention, the court rejected the transit remand plea and directed that the accused (Deep) to be released on a PR (personal recognizance) bond of Rs 50, 000. PTI AVI RSY

Source: PTI