CBI arrests 2 IRS officers, 5 others for ‘corruption’

The CBI has arrested seven people, including two officers of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) posted at the Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) in Mumbai, in connection with an alleged bribery racket, officials said on Wednesday.

In an operation that started on Tuesday, the CBI has arrested the IRS officers--Joint Development Commissioner CPS Chauhan and Deputy Development Commissioner Prasad Varwantkar--besides five others, including two assistant development commissioners, for allegedly favouring a group of middlemen in return for illicit monetary favours, they said.

During the searches, the CBI has seized documents of 25 properties from Chauhan believed to be worth Rs 40 crore, the officials said.

In total, around Rs 50 lakh has been seized during the searches on the premises of the seven suspects, with Rs 40 lakh understood to be from the premises of arrested Assistant Development Commissioner Rekha Nair, they said.

No immediate reaction was available from the people known to the arrested persons.