147 raids across country nets Rs 9 cr

The CBI today conducted 147 raids across the country and registered 65 cases against 190 people including stamp scam prime accused Abdul Kar...

The CBI today conducted 147 raids across the country and registered 65 cases against 190 people including stamp scam prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi.

CBI director U.S. Mishra said at a press conference that this time the thrust had been on revenue and taxation in the health sector. ‘‘The CBI has been conducting a special drive in the last few days to target the identified officers of doubtful integrity of the Revenue and Taxation departments…racketeering in passports and fake travel documents has been the other area of our focus,’’ he said.

During the raids, the CBI seized Rs 9 crores and more recoveries are likely to be reported in the next few days. Mishra said the single directive system of writing to the ministry in cases involving those at the level of joint secretary and above was compromising the secrecy of cases.

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The CBI registered a case against Telgi for obtaining duplicate passport from the RPO in Mumbai on the basis of forged documents. A case has been registered against SDE(T) Kareem Nagar in Andhra Pradesh who was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000, according to a CBI press release.

A case has also been registered against the GM of BSNL, Maharashtra Circle in Thane for disproportionate assets. Another case was registered by the CBI against senior general manager and some officials of the National Film Development Corporation in Mumbai and Doordarshan Directorate, Mumbai, and Mandi House for allegedly extending undue favour to a private company by issuing credit notes worth Rs 4.46 crore to five firms.

Mishra said a case was registered by the Economic Offences Wing in Chennai against eight pharmaceutical companies for cheating the public and posing serious health hazard. Adulterated and spurious drugs — which the company allegedly supplied to rural areas in Bihar, Assam and Orissa — have been seized, Misra said.

Cases have been registered against superintendent of customs and inspectors of customs stationed at Petrapole in West Bengal for allegedly conspiring with persons and helping them fraudulently claim the benefits of duty drawback.

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A disproportionate assets case has also been registered against the additional commissioner of Income Tax at Jaipur and a divisional manager of united India Insurance at Bharatpur. The CBI registered a case against five persons and other public servants in a racket involving the issuance of Indian passports to Sri Lankan Tamils and others on the basis of forged documents with the connivance of some passport officials in Trichy. On information from the MEA, the CBI had searched 11 places.