DSP booked in Rs 45 lakh graft case

The Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) has booked Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Vavinder Mahajan under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the NDPS Act.

Mahajan allegedly accepted Rs 45 lakh bribe from Akhil Jai Singh of Gokhal Marg in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, for giving him a clean chit in a case wherein huge quantity of pharmaceutical drugs were seized from a firm situated in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said Akhil’s firm Aster Pharma’s name, situated in Palghar, Maharashtra, had cropped up during investigation.

“Preliminary probe revealed that Mahajan had accepted Rs 45 lakh bribe from Akhil to protect him from legal consequences,” said Yadav, adding that Mahajan had been supporting drug suppliers by engaging in corrupt practices.

Mahajan and Akhil were booked following the statements of two drug inspectors.

Drug Inspector Shishan Mittal, who was arrested for colluding with smugglers six days ago, had facilitated a deal between Mahajan and Akhil, reads the FIR. Another Amritsar-based Drug Inspector who gave the statement had accompanied the STF teams during raids in Baddi and Maharashtra.

According to the FIR, the money was given in two installments. Mittal handed over Rs 25 lakh to Mahajan at his residence. The police also corroborated the same with financial and technical investigations.

The DGP said during a joint inspection at Baddi-based Smilax Pharmachem Drug Industries, cops seized 1.98 crore alprazolam tablets and 40 kg of raw alprazolam.

Yesterday, the ANTF carried out a raid at Mahajan’s residence at Rishi Vihar on Majitha Road. However, he got wind of the raid and fled. The raiding team reportedly confiscated huge quantity of unaccounted cash from his house. At present, Mahajan is posted as DSP in 9th Battalion PAP, Amritsar.