AP govt leaked info to trap corrupt officials: CBI

The CBI Friday accused the Andhra Pradesh government of leaking secret information to trap some corrupt officials, saying this resulted in nabbing of just one person, while the others escaped.

Enraged by its planned operation to trap the corrupt central government officers getting ruined by state anti-corruption bureau (ACB) half-baked action, the CBI said it had asked the Andhra home department to treat the information with utmost secrecy.

The turf war between the central agency and the state government became public when the ACB claimed the arrest of a central excise officer when he was allegedly taking a bribe in Machilipatnam district on Friday.

"The CBI had sought the consent of the state government to conduct a trap operation against some central government employees and others suspected of indulging in corrupt practices," CBI Spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said.

He said the state home department was asked to treat this information with utmost secrecy. Instead, the department shared this information with its ACB, Dayal said.

"The operation by the Andhra Pradesh anti-corruption bureau resulted in the arrest of only one suspect whereas several others under the scanner managed to escape possible arrest," a CBI official said.

This comes days after the state government issued an order withdrawing the "general consent" accorded to the CBI under the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act.

This effectively banned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from exercising its authority in the state.

Central Excise official M K Ramaneswar was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 for doing an official favour to a businessman in a Goods and Services Tax related matter, the state ACB said in a press release Friday.

Dayal said the CBI had received the information that Ramaneswar was