In an important development, the CBI has registered an FIR against controversial Bihar cadre IAS officer Sanjeev Hans (IAS:1997:BH) and several others following allegations of receiving a bribe to secure favourable orders from the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) in a buyer-builder dispute.
According to sources, Sanjeev Hans, who was serving as Private Secretary to the then Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, allegedly conspired with Vipul Bansal, an employee of RNA Corporation, and others to accept undue advantage from the promoters of East & West Builders.
It is alleged that Vipul Bansal approached Hans to influence proceedings in a builder-buyer dispute involving East & West Builders, a sister concern of the RNA Corporation as the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is the nodal ministry for the NCDRC.
According to the FIR, a meeting was arranged between Hans and Anubhav Agarwal, one of the promoters of the RNA Group, during which a bribe of ₹1 crore was finalized in lieu of favourable orders from the NCDRC.
The CBI has alleged that Hans subsequently facilitated two favourable hearing dates for East & West Builders. In addition, Hans also ensured that Saranga Agarwal, a promoter/director of the company, was not arrested in the case. In return for these favours, ₹1 crore bribe was allegedly paid through intermediaries.
According to CBI sources, the bribe amount was routed in multiple tranches through associates Shadab Khan and Pushpraj Bajaj whose contact details were shared with Bansal to facilitate the transfer of funds. Investigators suspect that Bajaj played a role in laundering the proceeds, while coded communications were used among the accused to coordinate payments through hawala channels.
The CB case has been registered under sections linked to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI SP Anil Kumar Yadav is supervising investigation, which is trying to verify the allegations and trace the money trail.
Join Us on WhatsApp