Pune: CBI recovers cash worth Rs 6 crores from additional divisional commissioner Anil Ramod

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) wing of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested Anil Ganpatrao Ramod, who served as the additional divisional commissioner, Pune, and was also an arbitrator for Pune, Satara, and Solapur Districts for the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was arrested from his Vidhan Bhavan office for demanding and accepting Rs 8 lakh bribe from the complainant.

The top revenue official was nabbed after the authorities laid a trap to catch him red-handed while accepting the money. Searches were conducted at the office and residential premises of the accused which led to the recovery of incriminating documents relating to property including cash estimated to be worth Rs 6 crores.

The CBI in its statement said that a case was registered on a complaint against Ramod. It was alleged that the complainant was looking after the land acquisition law-related cases of farmers from Satara and Solapur Districts.

It was further alleged that farmers from the villages were seeking higher compensation of their land and the complainant was representing their cases before the Office of Additional Divisional Commissioner and also Ramod.

The accused had allegedly kept the complainant's cases pending and when the complainant approached Ramod in this regard, he demanded undue advantage — 10 per cent of the amount of the increased compensation.

It was also alleged that the accused demanded Rs 10 lakh from the complainant for the increased compensation of around 1.25 crore (approx) and finally settled for Rs 8 lakh.

A video of CBI sleuths taking Ramod into custody from his office had gone viral on social media where plain-clothed CBI team members led by a woman police officer were seen whisking away the top revenue department officer to their headquarters for interrogation.

A team of over a dozen CBI officials had simultaneously raided his  Baner-based private residence, Queens Garden-based office and government residence at 1:00 pm in connection with a corruption-related case.

According to the police, some bank officials as well as two currency note counting machines were brought to the spot to assist the sleuths during the raid.

The CBI officials are ascertaining as to how a government official had accumulated huge cash disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The CBI team reached his residence in Rutuparna Society in Baner, took control of the house and locked it as part of official search, seizure and investigation procedure.

A number of top government officials especially in the state service are residents of Rutuparna building and a number of VIP’s are often seen entering and exiting the building on a regular basis. T

The twenty-member CBI team was led by CBI DIG Sudhir Hiremath. The arrested accused will be produced tomorrow before the Competent Court at Shivajinagar, Pune.