Chandigarh: CBI court frames charges against ex-ED official in corruption case
Chandigarh, August 23
Jagjit Singh, Special Judge, CBI court, Chandigarh, today framed charges against Gurnam Singh, former Deputy Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Vinod Gupta in a corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2020.
The charges have been framed for the offences punishable under Sections 7, 12, 13(2) read with 13 (1) (d) of the PC Act – 1988 and Section 120B of the IPC.
PK Dogra, senior public prosecutor for the CBI, argued for the framing of charges against the accused on the basis of the evidence and statements of the witnesses.
In the first information report, the CBI had alleged that Gurnam Singh, while serving as the deputy director of the ED, Chandigarh, took around Rs 2.50 lakh as bribe from the family of Disha Gupta in January 2017. Gurnam remained on deputation with the ED in Chandigarh for around five years.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) started investigations against Disha Gupta for alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management (FEMA) Act after the Chandigarh Police forwarded an FIR registered against her in an alleged case of misappropriation of funds of over Rs 1 crore of a company, Health Biotech.
Disha was working as a senior manager in the company. The Director of Health Biotech filed a complaint against her for misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 1.10 crore. The FIR was registered at the Sector 34 police station Chandigarh.
The ED marked the inquiry against Disha Gupta under the FEMA to the then Deputy Director Gurnam Singh. As per the CBI, ED officials directed the accused and her parents Vinod Gupta and Suman Gupta in November 2016 to appear before Gurnam Singh. The CBI alleged that when they met Gurnam, he demanded a bribe of Rs 2.50 lakh to settle the case. Vinod allegedly transferred the amount from the bank account of his wife to the bank account of Gurnam’s mother in two installments.
After hearing the arguments, the CBI court finding a prima facie case framed the charges against both accused. The CBI has filed the chargesheet in the case in 2021. It had earlier registered another case of disproportionate assets against Gurnam Singh in November 2017.
