CBI arrests Haryana cadre IPS officer in Rs 3 crore bribery case

A  Delhi Court has send Haryana cadre IPS officer to one-day CBI custody in alleged Rs 3 crore bribery case. The agency wanted 5-day custody. Earlier, the CBI arrested Haryana-cadre IPS officer Deepak Gahlawat (2012 batch) for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs3 crore from persons accused of selling counterfeit medicines. Gehlawat is currently posted as Regional Director in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in Delhi.
According to information the CBI had registered a case on June 8, 2026, against Delhi Police Crime Branch Inspector Pradeep Singh, medicine trader N. Raja, and his associate Rajkumar. During the investigation, the agency allegedly found that IPS officer Deepak Gahlawat had demanded the said amount from N. Raja, including an advance payment of Rs1.5 crore. According to the CBI, Gahlawat assured Raja that he would use his personal influence, contacts, and alleged nexus with officials to secure relief for him in CBI cases relating to the sale of counterfeit medicines in Puducherry.
Acting on specific tip off, the CBI laid a trap on June 8 and arrested Inspector Pradeep Singh along with six other persons. During the operation, the agency recovered the trap amount of approximately Rs25 lakh and an additional Rs90 lakh in cash. However, the case also raised questions about the CBI's handling of the investigation. The agency did not officially inform the media about the arrest of Inspector Pradeep Singh, nor did it name IPS officer Deepak Gehlawat in the FIR.
According to the CBI, reliable information indicated that Inspector Pradeep Singh of the Delhi Police Crime Branch, accused N. Raja alias Valliyappan Rajasekhar, his associate Rajkumar alias Madanraj, other unidentified public servants, and private individuals had entered into a criminal conspiracy to facilitate illegal bribe payments. The objective was allegedly to use influence over CBI investigating officers and other public officials connected with the investigation to obtain undue relief in CBI cases.
The FIR states that on May 14, 2026, N. Raja and Rajkumar Madanraj met Inspector Pradeep Singh near Aerocity, close to Delhi's IGI Airport. Pradeep Singh then allegedly took them to the office of an unidentified senior government officer located nearby. During the meeting, the senior officer allegedly assured Raja that he would help him obtain relief in the CBI case and demanded a bribe of Rs3 crore, with Rs1.5 crore to be paid in advance. 
This has raised a key question: if the CBI had such specific intelligence that enabled it to intercept the hawala transaction and arrest the accused, could it really have been unaware of the identity of the senior IPS officer before registering the FIR? 

(Freelance Journalist)