A day after conducting searches on the premises of former Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of WAPCOS, Rajinder Kumar Gupta, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested him and his son Gaurav. The central agency had recovered Rs 20 crore in cash during the searches on Tuesday, but the amount rose to Rs 38 crore on Wednesday, officials said.
It is one of the biggest seizures of cash by the agency. WAPCOS is a central public sector enterprise entirely owned by the government. It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. It was previously known as Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited. Gupta was at the helm of the firm for eight years from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2019.
The central agency began its searches Tuesday after booking Gupta, his wife Reema Singal, son Gaurav Singal, and daughter-in-law Komal Singal, for allegedly amassing illicit wealth during Gupta's tenure in the firm. Following the FIR, the CBI teams fanned 19 locations in Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Sonipat, and Ghaziabad in a coordinated search operation leading to the detection of the staggering sum.
During its searches on Tuesday, the CBI seized Rs 20 crore in cash, which rose to more than Rs 38 crore by Wednesday, a CBI Spokesperson said. In addition to cash, a significant quantity of jewellery, valuable items, and property documents were also seized, the spokesperson said.
READ | Operation Kaveri: More success for India’s rescue mission, 231 nationals come home from war-torn Sudan
According to the official, the former bureaucrat and his family were also alleged to have set up a private consultancy business in Delhi after his retirement from service. The alleged immovable properties of the accused consist of flats, commercial properties, farmhouses spread across Delhi, Gurugram, Panchkula, Sonipat, and Chandigarh, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
