Latest news with #Bazad
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
Former ED officer in Bengaluru gets three-year jail for Rs 5 lakh bribe
BENGALURU: The Special Court for CBI Cases has sentenced a former Enforcement Officer of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Lalit Bazad, to three years of simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh. Bazad was found guilty of extorting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh in exchange for defreezing the bank account of a finance firm under ED investigation for links to Chinese loan apps. 'While awarding the sentence, this court should bear in mind the expectations of society to prevent corruption in public office by providing prompt conviction and stern sentence,' observed Judge Manjunath Sangreshi, Principal Special Judge for CBI Cases. At the time of sentencing, Bazad was serving as an inspector in GST and Central Excise, Chennai Zone. The CBI had filed a charge sheet against him under Section 384 of the IPC and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to the CBI, on January 20 and 28, 2021, Mikhil Innani, Managing Director and CEO of M/s Apollo Finvest India Ltd., along with Diksha and Harish Innani, visited the ED office in Bengaluru. During this time, Bazad allegedly demanded Rs 50 lakh from Mikhil to close the case against Apollo Finvest. He also threatened to drag the case for at least 10 years and ruin the company's name and business if the amount was not paid. Eventually, Bazad managed to extort Rs 5 lakh, which was delivered by Manavendra Bhati on the night of February 9, 2021, at a pub in J.P. Nagar. The transaction was captured on CCTV.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Former Enceforment Directorate officer sentenced to 3-year imprisonment for accepting Rs 5 lakh bribe
Bengaluru: A special court for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases in Bengaluru Friday found a former ED officer guilty of accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh in a city pub from a Mumbai-based businessman in 2021. The court sentenced him to three years' simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs 5.5 lakh. The convict, Lalit Bazad, was on deputation from central goods and services tax and central excise department, Chennai. Senior public prosecutor Shivananda Perla told TOI the anti-corruption bureau of CBI filed the chargesheet against Bazad in Dec 2021. Earlier in June 2021, the complaint was filed by Mikhil Innani, a Mumbai-based businessman. The investigating agency alleged that in Feb 2021, while the accused was working as an enforcement officer in Bengaluru, had summoned Innani to the ED office in connection with an alleged Chinese loan scam. When the complainant attended the ED office, the accused allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to close the case. He also informed Innani that a case was registered against the company he runs in Mumbai by cyber crime police, Hyderabad. Bazad further threatened that the company accounts would be frozen. He put the complainant in fear of illegal harm to his business and reputation, entangling it in endless legal proceedings and dishonestly, inducing the delivery of money from him, Perla quoted from the chargesheet. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru When Bazad forced him to pay the money, on Sept 2, 2021, Harish Innani, the complainant's cousin, arranged the money and delivered it to Bazad in a pub in JP Nagar. The entire movement of the accused was recorded in the CCTV footage of the pub, and CBI produced the same before the court. The court held that the accused misused his official position as an enforcement officer and accepted the bribe by threatening the complainant, Perla said.
