Haryana-cadre IPS officer Deepak Gahlawat and a Delhi Police inspector have been granted bail in a Rs 3 crore bribery case linked to a CBI probe into a fake drug manufacturing racket.
Deepak Gahlawat was posted as joint director in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), while the Delhi Police Inspector Pradeep Singh was serving in the Crime Branch.
“As submitted in the court today, the investigation has, for all practical purposes, been completed, with only the forensic report relating to the digital device remaining to be received. The applicant (Gahlawat) was arrested on July 1 and has remained in custody for approximately 30 days,” Judge Changotra said in the order dated July 31.
The court granted Gahlawat bail on furnishing a bail bond and a surety of Rs 50,000 each, besides other conditions, including not leaving the country without permission, and not tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses.
Judge Changotra also allowed bail to Singh, noting that the probe had been completed and the accused had been incarcerated for 54 days after his arrest on June 9.
“Having regard to the nature of the allegations, the stage of the case, the absence of any further requirement for custodial interrogation, the period of incarceration already undergone by the applicant, the likely delay in conclusion of the trial, ground of parity and the settled principles of law, I am of the considered view that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail,” the judge said, placing similar conditions as in Gahlawat's case.
The CBI had alleged that Singh hatched a criminal conspiracy with the other co-accused to manipulate and influence the investigation of a criminal case being probed by it through the intervention of Gehlawat, for a total consideration of Rs 3 crore.
