In a case of alleged bribery involving Rs 50 lakh, the CBI has booked E S Ranganathan, director (marketing) of GAIL, and arrested five persons including alleged middlemen and businessmen. They have been booked for giving discounts to private companies buying petrochemical products marketed by the Maharatna PSU, officials said Saturday.
Following the registration of the case on Friday, the CBI conducted searches at about eight locations in Delhi-NCR including the office of Ranganathan at Bhikaji Cama Place in Delhi and his residence in Sector 62, Noida. The CBI has so far recovered Rs 1.3 crore in cash from Ranganathan’s premises.
According to officials, the agency has also booked middlemen Pawan Gaur and Rajesh Kumar, N Ramakrishnan Nair who had allegedly collected bribes, businessmen Saurabh Gupta and his Panchkula -based company United Polymer Industries and Aditya Bansal and his company Karnal-based Bansal Agency.
“CBI laid a trap and apprehended a private person (Gaur) and a director of a private company (Kumar) based at Delhi when the alleged bribe of Rs 10 lakh was received by the private person from the said director of private company allegedly on behalf of director (marketing) GAIL, (Ranganathan),” CBI spokesperson RC Joshi said.
The five persons – Gaur, Kumar, Nair, Gupta and Bansal have been arrested but Ranganathan has not yet been taken into custody.
Searches at this premises are still on, sources said.
“Subsequently, searches were conducted at the premises of the accused at Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Panchkula, Karnal etc, which led to recovery of Rs.84 lakh(approx), so far which include recovery of Rs 75 lakh from Gurgaon based private persons. Searches are continuing at the premises of the public servant,” Joshi said.
It is alleged that Ranganathan was “indulging into corrupt and illegal activities in criminal conspiracy” with Gaur and Kumar who is also director of Rishab Polychem Pvt.Ltd based at Bahudargarh Road, Delhi. Kumar and Gaur allegedly acted as Ranganathan’s middlemen, by obtaining bribes from the private companies buying petro chemical products marketed by the GAIL, the FIR alleged.
It said sources informed the CBI that at the direction of Kumar, Gaur had asked Ranganathan for allowing some discount to the buyers on petrochemical products being marketed by GAIL in return for illegal gratification.
The CBI has booked the accused under IPC sections of criminal conspiracy and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, they said.
