Arrested ED officer remanded to CBI custody up to August 14

MUMBAI: A special court on Friday sent Sandeep Singh Yadav, the former assistant director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) who was arrested for taking a bribe of ₹20 lakh from a Mumbai-based jeweller, to the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) till August 14, observing that his custodial interrogation was necessary to reveal whether there is a larger conspiracy involved in the case.
Singh was arrested by the CBI on Thursday, purportedly while accepting a bribe of ₹20 lakh from Mumbai-based jeweller Vipul Thakkar, the owner of VS Gold, in return for protecting his son, Nihar Thakkar, from a ED case.
Thakkar had filed a written complaint with the anti-corruption branch of the CBI on August 6, alleging that Singh had demanded a bribe of ₹20 lakh in lieu of not arresting his son. CBI arrested Singh in Delhi after he had allegedly agreed to take the bribe on August 7 near a public school in Lajpat Nagar.
He was produced before a special court in Mumbai on Friday where CBI public prosecutor Sandeep Singh sought Singh’s custody for seven days for detailed custodial interrogation to ascertain the role of other accused as well.
“During preliminary analysis of mobile phone of accused, it was seen that he was in touch with one suspect Bipin Shah, a resident of Mumbai, whose whereabouts are only known to Singh,” said the prosecutor. He argued that Singh, working as an assistant director in ED, can influence witnesses and tamper with evidence. He also pointed towards the possibility of the role of other senior officers in ED.
Although Singh was involved in an ED enquiry involving VS Gold, he was not the investigating officer of the case and was only involved in conducting searches at the house of Thakkar, as per ED officials.
Singh had allegedly begun threatening and harassing Thakkar, and made a WhatsApp call informing him about the address and time where the money should be delivered which was collected through a hawala channel.
Singh’s advocate Abhinesh Yadav submitted that since WhatsApp calls are encrypted and could not be recorded, such calls cannot be admitted as admissible evidence in the case. He also called the search report and arrest memo contradictory to itself, submitting that it is not possible to arrest the accused while searches are being conducted simultaneously.
The court, however, observed that the discrepancies pointed out by the defense are premature at this stage. The special sessions judge, SP Naik Nimbalkar, observed that there is reasonable ground to believe that the accusation against Singh is well founded. He observed that the amount involved in the case is huge, which makes it necessary to carry out a detailed investigation. The court noted, “If required, accused needs to be taken to Delhi for further investigation”, while observing that custodial interrogation is necessary for further investigation.