The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an on-the-run revenue officer in connection with an alleged Rs 40 lakh bribery case.
The probe agency registered a case on August 26, following a complaint alleging that Rakesh Kumar Sinha had demanded a bribe of Rs 40 lakh. Vinay Kumar Kantheti, a 2009-batch revenue officer, was also named in the case.
The probe agency has now traced Raigad CGST Additional Commissioner Vinay Kumar Kantheti to Rishikesh and taken him into custody. The CBI sought five days of police custody for custodial interrogation. The high court found that the grounds of arrest had been communicated to the accused in writing. It also noted that the relevant family members and advocates had been duly informed about the arrests. Kantheti, however, had been allegedly on the run instead of complying with the high court order. He has now been arrested.
However, on August 28, the Special Court rejected the request, held the arrests illegal and released the accused on bail. On September 16, the high court quashed and set aside the special court’s order and remanded the accused to two days of CBI custody. Following the order, Sinha and Rajput were taken into CBI custody for two days and subsequently sent to 14 days of judicial custody by the court.
All three accused were arrested and produced before the Special CBI Court in Thane. The CBI challenged the order before the Bombay High Court.
