The CBI apprehended a man in Uttarakhand for posing as an official from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying in New Delhi and extorting money from loan seekers. Identified as Prabhu Dayal, he was masquerading as Rishi Gupta and attempting to solicit a bribe of Rs 45,000 from a poultry farm owner in the state. Dayal was taken into custody from his hometown in Agra and presented before the Competent Court in Dehradun.
The arrest stemmed from a case initiated by the CBI, ACB, Dehradun on June 29. Allegations surfaced that the accused, under the guise of an official from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, demanded a bribe of Rs 45,000 or 2% of a loan amounting to Rs 22.50 lakh from the complainant for loan approval. The complainant, operating a poultry farm in Village Lalpur, Tehsil Kashipur, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, had sought a loan from the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) via the Udyami Mitra (SIDBI) portal.
During the investigation, it was discovered that the imposter had access to information regarding AHIDF loan applicants and applications. He would contact numerous applicants daily, coercing them to pay bribes to prevent loan rejection or facilitate loan approval. By assuming the identity of an AHIDF official and discussing loan details, he managed to extract bribes from applicants on a daily basis.
