ED deputy director held by CBI for seeking Rs 5cr bribe

NEW DELHI: CBI has arrested a deputy director of ED in Odisha, Chintan Raghuvanshi , in connection with an alleged bribery case. The agency had conducted a 'trap operation' on Thursday after receiving a complaint that the officer had demanded a bribe of Rs 5 crore from a Bhubaneswar-based mining businessman, who also owned a hospital, in lieu of not attaching his hospital or arresting him in a case.

Raghuvanshi, a 2013-batch IRS officer, was apprehended by CBI while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh as the first instalment of the bribe.

In his complaint, which is part of CBI's FIR, the businessman said he had received a summons from ED's Bhubaneswar office in 2024 and had attended the proceedings where he was informed about a case having been registered against him in 2020.

"On Jan 8, 2025, searches were conducted at my office, residence and at places belonging to my acquaintances. I again received a summon from ED in March 2025. When I went to the ED office, Chintan Raghuvanshi called me to his chamber and asked me to contact a private individual named Bhaghti in order to get relief from ED in my case. I met Bhaghti in Bhubaneshwar and he was also in touch with me on Facetime," the complaint said. The complainant claimed he was pressured to pay a bribe to Raghuvanshi to settle his case.

"Bhaghti told me that Raghuvanshi had demanded a bribe of Rs 5 crore for not attaching my hospital and not arresting me and to settle my case," the businessman said, adding when he told Bhagthi he could not pay Rs 5 crore, Raghuvanshi allegedly reduced the amount to Rs 2 crore and sought Rs 50 lakh as the first instalment. The businessman subsequently approached CBI which laid a trap and nabbed the officer.