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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested an official of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly taking bribes amounting to Rs 5 crore from businessman Amandeep Singh Dhall, an accused in the Delhi excise policy case.
Pawan Khatri, who worked as an Assistant Director in the ED, was one of the two officials against whom the probe agency had filed a complaint over the bribery charges.
An FIR was filed by the CBI at the request of the ED against the two accused officers, Pawan Khatri, an Assistant Director, and Nitesh Kohar, an Upper Divisional Clerk. Others accused in the case include Deepak Sangwan, an Air India employee, arrested businessman Amandeep Singh Dhall, Gurugram resident Birender Pal Singh, Praveen Kumar Vats, a chartered accountant, Vikramaditya, the CEO of the Claridges Hotels and a few other officials.
According to the ED complaint, Amandeep Singh Dhall and Birender Pal Singh had given Rs 5 crore to Praveen Vats between December 2022 and January 2023 to arrange for help in the ongoing investigation in the Delhi excise policy case.
In his statement to the ED, Praveen Vats said Deepak Sangwan had assured him to help arrange for the protection from arrest for Amandeep Dhall in lieu of some amount of money. Sangwan introduced Vats to Pawan Khatri, the ED official, in December 2022.
On the basis of Deepak Sangwan’s assurance, Praveen Vats took Rs 3 crore from Amandeep Dhall in six tranches of Rs 50 lakh each from December 2022 to January 2023. Deepak Sangwan later told Vats that Amandeep Singh Dhall might be taken out of the accused list in the case for an additional amount of Rs 2 crore.
Praveen Vats conveyed the same to Amandeep Dhall and after the businessman agreed to the proposal, he had taken Rs 2 crore more from Vats in four tranches of Rs 50 lakh each.
Praveen Vats also told the ED that out of the amount received from Amandeep Singh Dhall‘s father, he had given Rs 50 lakh to Deepak Sangwan and Pawan Khatri as advance payment. The payment was made in cash and the handover was made around the middle of December 2022 in a parking space behind ITC Hotel, Vasant Vihar.
However, despite the assurances made by Sangwan, Amandeep Dhall was arrested by the ED on March 1, 2023. After the arrest, Praveen Vats met Deepak Sangwan, who said the instructions for the arrest came from higher authorities and he did not have influence over them.
Deepak Sangwan in his statement to the ED, told the officials that he met Praveen in June regarding the return of the money taken from Dhall’s family. In a few such meetings, the two accused ED officials, Pawan Khatri and Nitesh Kohar, were also present.
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