Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials on Monday carried out searches in Mumbai and Nagpur in connection with the CBI's Preliminary Enquiry document leak case. The agency had earlier arrested a lawyer from Nagpur and a CBI officer in connection with the case.
"We would not want to share details of the searches as the investigation is still underway," said a CBI official.
In September, the CBI had initiated an enquiry into the episode where its Preliminary Enquiry (PE) report giving "clean-chit" to Anil Deshmukh had surfaced. The agency officials had claimed that an attempt was made to subvert the enquiry in such a way that Deshmukh does not get into the ambit of an FIR from CBI. The agency had then registered an FIR on August 31, into the matter on charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust by a government servant in the matter under the sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.
The agency officials then arrested its own sub-inspector, Abhishek Tiwari, for allegedly taking bribe to scuttle the PE against Deshmukh and had also arrested Nagpur-based lawyer Anand Daga in the said case. CBI teams had also carried out searches in Allahabad and Delhi in connection with this fresh case, in September.
According to the CBI, a PE was registered on April 06, in compliance of the order of the Bombay High Court after which a team of officers led by enquiry officer (EO) RS Gunjyal (DSP) along with suspect officer Tiwari left for Mumbai on April 06 for conducting enquiry in the said matter. During the enquiry, the team members examined many witnesses including Deshmukh. Deshmukh was examined on April 14.
Consequent upon the enquiry, the EO submitted his report on April 16. Tiwari assisted the EO in preparation of the said report and had been in possession of case sensitive documents. Pursuant to the comments and opinion of senior officers including legal officers and after the approval of the competent authority, an FIR was registered on April 21 against Deshmukh, the agency officials claimed.
"It has been reliably learnt that the copies of the confidential documents pertaining to the enquiry and the investigation have been disclosed to unauthorised persons. It has been reliably learnt that Tiwari, who hails from Allahabad came in contact with advocate Daga, who is lawyer of Deshmukh, during the course of enquiry and had been in regular contact with him since then. It has been further learnt that on June 28, Tiwari had visited Pune in connection with the investigation of the case. It has been learnt that Daga met Tiwari and handed over an iPhone 12 Pro as illegal gratification to him in lieu of passing details regarding the said enquiry and the investigation, thereby causing improper performance of public duty. It has also been learnt that he had been obtaining illegal gratification from Daga at regular intervals," had CBI claimed in its August FIR.
As per the FIR, Tiwari shared copies of different documents like memorandum of proceedings, sealing-unsealing memorandum, statement, seizure memos etc. related to the investigation of the said case with Daga through WhatsApp on many occasions. "Thus, Tiwari who was entrusted with the possession of case sensitive documents as part of the enquiry and the investigation of the FIR in his capacity as a sub-inspector has committed breach of trust in respect of the said property," the FIR stated.
