New Delhi: The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau on Thursday arrested an Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer and his associate for accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakhs.
According to the bureau, Naval Kishore Meena, an enforcement officer in the federal probe agency, and Babulal Meena, a junior assistant, allegedly took the bribe in a chit fund case lodged in Manipur.
Naval Kishore Meena, a resident of Vimalpura in Jaipur district, is posted at the ED's sub-zonal office in Imphal, while Babulal Meena is a junior assistant in the Mundawar Sub Registrar Office in the newly formed Kotpulti-Behror district of Rajasthan, the bureau in a statement.
According to the bureau, Naval Kishore had allegedly demanded Rs 17 lakh in lieu of settling a case lodged in the ED office in Manipur capital Imphal against the complainant in the chit fund matter.
The complainant had informed the bureau that a bribe of Rs 17 lakh was allegedly demanded by Naval Kishore for settling the case registered against him in the office of the ED in Imphal, the statement said.
The bureau said that after verifying the complaint, its team arrested them for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 15 lakh.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot attacked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, saying the federal agency is "attacking" Congress leaders in the state the way locusts from Pakistan used to attack crops, reported news agency PTI.
Gehlot was referring to the ED raid on the premises of state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra.
"Enforcement Directorate (ED) teams are attacking congress leaders in Rajasthan like 'tiddi' (locusts) from Pakistan used to attack crops here," Gehlot said in Nokha of Bikaner while canvassing for Congress candidate Sushila Dudi.
Gehlot further stated that various criminals who committed economic crimes are sitting abroad, which suggests that "ED's lethality has been reduced".
In a statement, he said fugitives who committed economic offences should be arrested, but today the ED is being "misused" against political rivals. This trend is visible in all the states ruled by the Opposition, he claimed.