The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a corruption case against senior IAS officer Sanjeev Hans and several others following allegations of bribery to secure favourable orders from the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), officials said.
Sanjeev Hans, a 1997-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre who was serving as Private Secretary to the then Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, allegedly conspired with Vipul Bansal, an employee of RNA Corporation, and others to demand and accept undue advantage from the promoters of East & West Builders, as per the CBI FIR.
Those named in the FIR include Sanjeev Hans, Vipul Bansal, Anubhav Agarwal, Pushpraj Bajaj, Shadab Khan, Devendra Singh Anand, Mukul Bansal, East & West Builders, Mumbai, and unknown others.
Investigators allege that Vipul Bansal, a close associate of Hans, approached him to influence proceedings in a builder-buyer dispute involving East & West Builders, a sister concern of RNA Corporation. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution is the nodal ministry for the NCDRC.
According to the FIR, ₹15 lakh was transferred on August 9, 2019, from a bank account belonging to Mukul Bansal, brother of Vipul Bansal, to an account held by Devendra Singh Anand, an associate of Hans. An additional ₹25 lakh was allegedly delivered in cash via hawala channels to Shadab Khan, while the remaining ₹60 lakh was also routed through similar means to Khan and Bajaj.
It is further alleged that a meeting was arranged between Hans and Anubhav Agarwal, one of the promoters of the RNA Group, during which a bribe of ₹1 crore was agreed upon in exchange for favourable orders from the NCDRC.
CBI also alleged Hans subsequently facilitated two favourable hearing dates for East & West Builders and also ensured that Saranga Agarwal, a promoter/director of the company, was not arrested in connection with the case. In return, the agreed bribe amount of ₹1 crore was allegedly paid through intermediaries.
The agency has alleged that the bribe was routed in multiple tranches through associates Shadab Khan and Pushpraj Bajaj. Hans is said to have shared their contact details with Bansal to facilitate the transfer of funds. Investigators further suspect that Bajaj played a role in laundering the proceeds, while coded communications were used among the accused to coordinate payments through hawala channels.
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