CBI arrests its DSP in Himachal Pradesh scholarship scam
Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested its Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Balbir Singh based in Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla in connection with a bribery case involving the Assistant Director of the Enforcement Directorate along with two others.
The DSP was arrested after he was questioned in connection with the bribery case linked to the alleged Himachal Pradesh scholarship scam. Singh was produced before the Special CBI Court here which sent him to CBI remand for a day.
A day earlier, he had been summoned by the CBI in its Chandigarh office for questioning but was admitted to a hospital owing to some ailment. The CBI has registered an FIR against Vishal Deep, former Assistant Director, Shimla, on complaints of directors of two educational institutions on December 22, 2024, under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI alleged that the ED officer, with the help of two relatives, was extorting money by threatening to arrest them in the investigation he was overseeing. Deep, however, alleged that the DSP and one of the complainants tried to induce him to accept a bribe for not arresting the complainant and diluting the charges against him.
Public prosecutor Narender Singh informed the court that the accused DSP had mediated the meeting with complainant Deep in a hotel here on December 14, 2024, and had negotiated the bribe amount of Rs 55 lakh. An analysis of Singh’s mobile also substantiated his presence at the hotel.
On December 22, 2024, the CBI registered two FIRs against Deep based on complaints lodged by Bhupinder Kumar Sharma, chairman of Dev Bhumi Group of Institutions in Una and Rajneesh Bansal, chairman of Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions in Sirmaur district.
During interrogation, Deep had disclosed that Singh had mediated for negotiating the bribe amount during the meeting in December. The public prosecutor said that Singh’s custodial interrogation is required for recovery of the remaining bribe money of Rs 1 lakh.