CBI nabs army officer, middleman in bribery case, seizes Rs 2 crore

An Army official has been arrested while taking a bribe. CBI arrested  Lt. Col Deepak Kumar Sharma and a private person Vinod Kumar on Saturday and later The two were produced before a court on Saturday and remanded to police custody till Tuesday.This comes after a case was registered against Sharma on Friday, based on credible intelligence inputs. He was the Deputy Planning Officer in the International Cooperation and Exports division of the defence ministry's Department of Defence Production.The CBI has also named Sharma's wife, Colonel Kajal Bali (Commanding Officer of the 16th Infantry Division Ordnance Unit in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan), and others, including a Dubai based company on the allegations of criminal conspiracy and bribery etc. in the case.

It is alleged that Lt. Col. Sharma, habitually indulges in corrupt and illegal activities, in criminal conspiracy with representatives of various private companies dealing in defence products manufacturing, export etc., by obtaining undue advantage/bribe from them in exchange of providing favours to them. It is further alleged that Rajiv Yadav and Ravjit Singh are looking after lndia operations of the accused company and are based in Bangalore. They have been in regular contact with Lt. Col. Sharma, Govt. Departments and Ministries. One Vinod Kumar delivered a bribe of Rs. 3 lakh, on the behest of the said company, to Lt. Col. Deepak Sharma on December 18,2025.

After arrest, the CBI conducted searches at Sri Ganganager, Bengaluru, Jammu and other places. During searches at the house of Lt. Col. Deepak Kumar Sharma in Delhi, the bribe amount of Rs. 3 Lakh as well as cash amount of Rs. 2,23,000,00/- and a cash amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- from the house of accused in Sri Ganganagar, in addition to other incriminating material, has been seized. Search in the office premises of Lt. Col. Sharma in New Delhi is also continuing. Further investigation is underway. 

(Freelance Journalist)