CBI seize Rs 29 lakh from Customs appraiser’s home

MUMBAI, NOV 20: The CBI on Saturday arrested Jaylaxmi Radhakrishnan, the customs appraiser from Air Cargo, whose house search on Friday y...

MUMBAI, NOV 20: The CBI on Saturday arrested Jaylaxmi Radhakrishnan, the customs appraiser from Air Cargo, whose house search on Friday yielded Rs 29.32 lakh in cash. The figure shocked even some commissioners in the department.

She was produced before the special court (anti-corruption) at Sessions, and has been remanded in police custody till Monday.

Radhakrishnan, who is currently in audit, has been with the department for 25 years, sources said.

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A DA case (possession of disproportionate assets) has been registered against her. The CBI conducted a surprise check on Thursday night at Air Cargo, which turned out more sensational than perhaps their own expectations.More than 15 Customs officers were found to be in possession of huge amounts of cash, either in their office or at their homes. All of them are being questioned.

One of the appraisers, Rajan Karnik, is also being questioned on investments totally amounting to Rs 25 lakh. The investments — two flats, two shops, Rs seven lakh in FDs, threevehicles and agricultural land in Nashik — all seem to stand in his mother’s name.

In another incident, the CBI recently arrested two officers of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) for allegedly demanding bribe from one Pintoo Sharma. The RPF men had allegedly demanded Rs 5000 for releasing Sharma’s 14-year-old brother, Deepak.

The accused, Sudhir Agnihotri and Sayyad Gulab, also got violent when the CBI officers nabbed them, and Gulab allegedly assaulted N M Parab, the CBI inspector. Parab has registered a case against the duo for assault with the Bandra police.

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Deepak was allegedly detained illegally in the RPF lockup in Bandra on November 15 and the detention not recorded in the station diary.

The special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation, has remanded both Agnihotri and Gulab to police custody till Monday.