Sunday, December 22, 2019

Court pulls up CBI, acquits two in corruption case
Probe agency accused of being ‘laidback’


22/12/2019, NIRNIMESH KUMAR

Pulling up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its “casual and laid-back” investigation into a corruption case, a court here has acquitted a junior engineer of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and a daily wager.

‘Blind eye to facts’

Acquitting the two, Additional Sessions Judge Santosh Snehi Mann said: “This case is an illustration of a bad prosecution launched by the CBI, an elite investigating agency, on the basis of a motivated complaint. The officers involved in the investigation did not do any independent probe about the allegations against the accused. They turned a blind eye to the crucial facts and official records of the south civic body and Palam police station. It is a matter of concern that senior supervisory officers of the probe agency mechanically forwarded the chargesheet and failed to discharge supervisory duty diligently.”

The CBI had lodged a complaint against the two based on allegations levelled by a builder that the officer, through the daily wager, had demanded a bribe of ₹1,50,000 from him in lieu of permitting him to construct a building.

The probe agency said it had caught the daily wager red-handed while accepting part payment of bribe of ₹40,000 from the builder during a trap while the junior engineer was caught when he came to meet the bribe acceptor.

Failed to prove bribery

“The prosecution has miserably failed to prove demand of bribe by accused junior engineer Vijay Jadhav from the complainant; the motive for demand; conspiracy between accused Jadhav and daily wager Govind Ram and acceptance of part payment of bribe by accused Govind Ram at the behest of Jadhav,” the Judge added.

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