CBI files charge sheet against its 2 officers for 'diluting' corruption case

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against two of its officers for allegedly diluting a corruption case against a businessman, officials said Monday.

Neeraj Raja Kochar, the owner of Viraj Profiles, and Rakesh Tiwari, a caterer at the Palika Service Officers' Institute in Chanakyapuri, were also charge sheeted in the case, they said.

The case pertains to allegations that Tiwari took help of the two officers -- Rohit Srivastava, Additional Superintendent of Police, CBI and Rabinder Pradhan, a former CBI inspector who's now back to his parent cadre BSF, to "dilute" an ongoing CBI probe against Kochar, they said.

"An investigation has established Tiwari, Kochar and the two officers were part of a criminal conspiracy. The two CBI officials provided case-related sensitive information and relief (to the accused) in the said case," a CBI spokesperson said.

The agency found that Kochar paid Tiwari Rs 85 lakh in three installments to "dilute" the probe, they said.

Kochar was allegedly using Tiwari's services to influence CBI officers probing a corruption case against an Indian Revenue Officer, Vivek Batra, in which Kochar is also an accused, they said.

Kochar gave Tiwari an alleged bribe of Rs 20 lakh through Kamal Ahmed, a "hawala" operator in Chandni Chowk, on August 2, they said.

The CBI arrested him in August after he received Rs 15 lakh as a second installment.

The accused CBI officers had got undue advantage from the accused, they alleged.

After registering an FIR in the matter in August, the agency had carried out searches and seized 20 Rolex watches, Rs 80 lakh in cash and jewellery worth Rs 1.6 crore from a cupboard in the office of Tiwari, who runs a canteen at PSOI, Chankyapuri, a known waterhole for government officers, they said.

Another tranche of Rs 2.86 crore was also recovered from him, they said.