A Delhi court has placed Deepak Gahlawat, a 2012-batch IPS officer from Haryana cadre, under one day’s custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with an alleged bribery case. Gahlawat, who is currently serving on Central deputation with the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in Delhi, was presented before the Rouse Avenue Courts following his arrest by the CBI earlier in the day.
The CBI had requested a five-day custodial interrogation for the accused. However, the court granted a partial approval to the probe agency’s request and remanded Gahlawat to one day’s CBI custody for further investigation. Gahlawat’s counsel opposed the CBI’s plea for custodial interrogation, highlighting that the IPS officer had already participated in the investigation on four occasions and had fully cooperated with the probe.
The defense team argued that the Rs 50,000 deposited into Gahlawat’s bank account was simply an advance payment received for the sale of his old car. They further contended that no public servant accepting a bribe would transfer the money to their personal bank account. According to the CBI, the agency had filed a case on June 8 against a Delhi Police Inspector and two private individuals.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Gahlawat had allegedly demanded illegal gratification, claiming he could leverage his personal influence to assist certain private individuals in cases under CBI investigation related to the sale of counterfeit drugs in Puducherry. In an earlier phase of the inquiry, the CBI had apprehended Delhi Police Inspector Pradeep Singh along with six private individuals.
The probe agency had seized approximately Rs 25 lakh as trap money and confiscated about Rs 90 lakh in cash, along with various incriminating documents. Multiple locations associated with Gahlawat were searched by the CBI, leading to the seizure of several digital devices, hard disks, and documents deemed pertinent to the case. The investigation remains ongoing.
