CBI arrests Customs Department appraiser, 3 others; recovers Rs 1 crore cash during searches

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an appraiser of the Customs Department and three others including a Customs house agent, a middleman, a private person in an alleged bribery case of Rs 7 lakh.  The probe agency also recovered cash of around Rs one crore along with incriminating documents during the search operations.  

The arrested accused are Saurav Sharma, then Appraiser, ICD Tuglakabad but now posted at Office of Chief Commissioner of Customs, Chennai; Neeraj, Customs House Agent; Ram Krishan Mishra (middleman); and Kishore Kumar (private person).

A case was registered against the key accused and others, alleging that the then Appraiser, ICD, Tuglakabad, Delhi was regularly pursuing private parties and few officials for payment of pending undue advantage in lieu of import consignments cleared by him during his tenure at ICD, Tuglakabad, Delhi. 

Further, it was alleged that various parties had been approaching the middleman to pursue their pending matters with the said appraiser. 

It was also alleged that the Appraiser asked the middleman that a person will collect payment of undue advantage (illegal gratification) on his behalf. The middleman had allegedly delivered the payment of Rs 7 lakh as the part of undue advantage (illegal gratification) to the said private person. 

CBI caught the middleman, said private person, a Customs House Agent, and recovered Rs 7 lakh. Searches were also conducted at the office of Appraiser at Chennai, his previous office in ICD, Tuglakabad, and residential premises of accused in Delhi, Noida, and Chennai that led to the recovery of incriminating documents and cash of around Rs 1 crore.

The arrested accused will be produced before the court. The investigation is continuing.