CBI nabs customs officer accepting Rs1.9 crore bribe

A senior officer from the customs and central excise department (intelligence directorate), KB Mahadik (52), was caught red-handed by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s anti-corruption bureau for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs1.9 crore.

A subsequent search operation at his residence led to seizure of Rs6.37 crore in cash, USD800, 250gm of gold, 15kg of silver vessels and a deer skin.

This was besides 80 files containing documents of flats and land purchased by Mahadik, CBI said. Another search was undertaken at Mahadik’s Sadashiv Peth office.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, CBI’s superintendent of police (anti-corruption bureau) Vidya Kulkarni said that the CBI had received reliable information on Friday at 8.30am that a Jalna-based businessman running a steel rolling business was coming to Pune to hand over a substantial bribe to Mahadik to evade excise duty. “When Mahadik arrived at Kohinoor Estate, Wakadewadi at around 9pm, he was arrested while taking a white bag containing about Rs1.9 crore. The bribe-giver fled but was nabbed and arrested later,” she said.

The businessman identified as Surendra Pitti, proprietor of Jalna-based SRJ Pvt Ltd was also arrested later, even as a second businessman fled and is yet to be traced. The two accused were produced before a special judge on Saturday and remanded to police custody till January 10.