On Thursday, a Special CBI Court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of O.P. Rana, the Reader to the DGP (Vigilance), in connection with the Punjab Vigilance Bureau bribery scandal. Rana’s arrest is considered crucial in this case, as the CBI has already asserted in court that, during the investigation into the ₹20 lakh bribery scheme, Rana had explicitly stated that “₹13 lakhs are destined for ‘Sahib’ [the boss].”
On the day of the raids, O.P. Rana managed to evade the CBI team and fled the scene. Furthermore, Vikas Goyal—a 51-year-old resident of Malout also known as ‘Vicky’—was denied interim bail. In his petition, Goyal had cited severe medical conditions as grounds for his bail request. Goyal’s counsel, K.P. Singh, had argued that Vikas Goyal suffers from serious heart, liver, and spinal ailments, necessitating continuous monitoring and treatment by medical specialists. The court had issued a notice to the CBI seeking a response to this petition, and the matter was subsequently heard on Thursday.
On May 11, the CBI exposed a major bribery racket operating within the Punjab Vigilance Department. The scheme involved a State Tax Officer—Amit Kumar, who was posted in Malout—being falsely implicated in a fabricated case, following which demands were made for a bribe comprising ₹20 lakhs in cash and a mobile phone worth ₹1.86 lakhs.
Acting on a complaint filed by Amit Kumar, the CBI set up a trap and arrested Vikas Goyal, his son Raghav Goyal, and their driver, Ankit Wadhwa. O.P. Rana played a pivotal role in this bribery conspiracy; however, he managed to give the CBI team the slip and remains at large.
