Mumbai, Dec 10: A year after the CBI unearthed the alleged bribery case in SEEPZ-SEZ, alleged middleman Manoj Joglekar has been granted pardon and made a witness on the condition that he will “give true and correct disclosure of facts” against all IRS officials involved.
Joglekar, who is said to be a key link, had last month approached the special court and turned an approver. The CBI had not objected to the plea. Allowing Joglekar’s plea, the court observed that as the application has not been objected to by the CBI, “there is nothing on record not to grant the tender of pardon as sought”.
Six Officials Arrested in 2024 Bribery Case
On December 17, 2024, the CBI had arrested six public servants in the bribery case involving allegations of corruption. Several searches were conducted across Mumbai, which led to seizure of 27 immovable properties and three luxury vehicles.
The accused persons were posted at SEEPZ-SEZ and included CPS Chauhan (joint development commissioner); Varawantkar Prasad Hanumantrao (deputy development commissioner); Manish Kumar (assistant development commissioner); Ravindra Kumar (assistant at the SEEPZ-SEZ office); Sanjeev Kumar Meena (authorised officer); and Rajesh Kumar (upper division clerk).
The CBI had alleged that the officers took bribes for space allotment, disposal of imported goods not used for manufacturing, unauthorised sale of duty-free imported goods without paying duty, engagement of security persons and daily wagers, and extending undue favours to civil contractors in exchange for monetary gratification.
How the Racket Was Exposed
The alleged racket came to light during a surprise check wherein CBI officials met Joglekar, who allegedly had been collecting bribes on behalf of the officers. During the check, the CBI found 22 envelopes with names of different companies/codes. These envelopes contained cash allegedly given to respective officers whose name was mentioned in codes. The CBI found that the envelopes had around Rs 60 lakh in cash.
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Two days later, a special court had held the arrests of the accused, including two IRS officers, illegal due to the time of detention and the final arrest, and ordered their release. In January 2025, the CBI had registered a fresh case against IRS officer CPS Chauhan and four others, including his wife, for wealth disproportionate to their income.
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