The Central Bureau of Investigation has uncovered an alleged demand of Rs 20 lakh for “Sahab” and a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold-7 mobile phone for himself by O P Rana, Reader to the Punjab Director General of Police (Vigilance), during its probe into a bribery case linked to Punjab Vigilance Bureau officials, according to sources in the agency.
Rana, who escaped during a CBI trap in Chandigarh on May 11, remains absconding. The agency has secured a non-bailable warrant against him and confiscated his passport during searches at his residence to prevent any attempt to flee abroad, sources said.
According to sources, the complainant, a Punjab State Tax Officer posted at Malout, was allegedly taken by private middlemen Raghav Goyal and Vikas Goyal to Rana’s office on April 29 in connection with a disproportionate assets complaint pending with the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.
Rana allegedly raised a demand of Rs 20 lakh for “Sahab” and a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold-7 handset for himself. The negotiations were allegedly carried out in Chandigarh.
The CBI has arrested middlemen Vikas Goyal, his son Raghav Goyal and associate-driver Ankit Wadhwa. During the trap, Wadhwa was allegedly caught accepting Rs 13 lakh and the premium mobile phone from the complainant on behalf of the accused.
The incriminating WhatsApp chats recovered by the federal agency from Raghav Goyal’s phone revealed “continuous communication and co-ordination” between him and Rana in connection with the alleged bribe deal.
Sources said the chats included discussions on the make, model and colour of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold-7 purchased by the complainant. Investigators also found that photographs of the handset were allegedly forwarded to Rana before the trap.
The CBI further found that sensitive departmental information, including complaints pending before senior Vigilance Bureau officers, was also exchanged through these chats.
“The WhatsApp chat record of accused Raghav Goyal with accused O P Rana prima facie suggests their active participation in the commission of offence and the criminal conspiracy thereof,” the Special CBI Judge Bhawna Jain observed while granting police remand of the accused.
The court further noted that the CBI was probing “who had shared the sensitive departmental information like complaints etc. made to the senior officers of the Vigilance Bureau” with the accused.
Another key revelation pertains to the alleged use of Punjab Police personnel during the operation.
As per the court order, accused Ankit Wadhwa disclosed before independent witnesses that he had gone to collect the bribe money and handset in a Toyota Camry along with Mohit Devgan, a Home Guard volunteer, and Khushkaran, a Punjab Police constable.
The two were allegedly acting as vigil men during the transaction under directions of Raghav and Vikas Goyal.
CBI officials told the court that the personnel escaped after alerting others following Wadhwa’s arrest. The agency said Rana, Raghav and Vikas fled from the spot, while Raghav and Vikas were later apprehended near Ambala after a chase, and Rana remains absconding.
The CBI has also begun examining the circumstances under which Punjab Police gunmen carrying AK-47 rifles were attached to the private accused persons.
Searches at the residences of the accused in Malout and Chandigarh led to recovery of Rs 9 lakh cash and incriminating documents, the agency said.
The Special CBI Court, while issuing non-bailable warrants against Rana, observed that he had been “evading arrest” since the trap proceedings and that his custodial interrogation was necessary for fair investigation into the larger conspiracy, money trail and alleged nexus between private middlemen and public servants.
