CBI court orders release of items, Rs 87.5 lakh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31

The CBI court today accepted a petition and ordered the release of articles, documents, over Rs 87 lakh and other items in the DSP Raka Gira case.

The plea was filed by her advocate SPS Bhullar after the recent investigation by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau found that no case was made out against her on the basis of the report sent by the CBI to the Punjab Government on March 20, 2012. The Vigilance Bureau intimated the CBI on May 2, 2016, that the case against her had been closed as she had not acquired assests disproportionate to her  known sources of income.

Thus, the articles, documents, bank accounts, locker, FDRs and Rs 87,50,000  were to be released to the applicant as these were not required for the investigation.

A challan has already been filed in a 2011 corruption case involving her. The prosecution evidence is already going on and the next date of hearing is May 31. After a CBI trap and search of her Sector 15 residence, the articles were seized by the CBI.

It was stated that the applicant had acquired assets disproportionate to her known sources of income by corrupt and illegal means by abusing her official position and accordingly a report was sent to the Punjab Government to register a case against her.

Since the request was sent to the government, the CBI had no right to retain the items and these were lying with the CBI in an illegal manner, the application pointed out.

The CBI had arrested DSP Raka Gira in July 2011 by laying a trap at her Sector 15 residence and caught her taking Rs 1 lakh as bribe. The CBI had acted on a complaint of KK Malhotra, who had stated that the DSP was demanding a bribe to free him from inquiries initiated against him.