CBI arrests Customs official in corruption case

MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Customs official in a corruption case. The official, Vineet Dhattarwal, has been accused of demanding an undue advantage of ₹4 lakh for clearing an import consignment.

The CBI case was registered on November 21 last year based on a complaint from a representative of a firm based in Vadodara, Gujarat, which is in the business of chemical imports. According to the complaint, the Customs official had allegedly demanded an undue advantage of ₹5 lakh, which was reduced to ₹4 lakh after negotiations, for facilitating the clearance of an import consignment comprising a chemical product (Toluene Diisocyanate) that arrived from the Jebel Ali Port, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The official, who is currently in judicial custody, has approached the Bombay high court for bail. The official’s lawyer Dr. Sujay Kantawala, told HT that the bail plea was moved on the grounds that his client is “innocent” and that he has already spent a considerable time in custody.

The case’s complainant is authorised by his firm to handle works related to the customs department in connection with import shipments. It was alleged that the firm’s representative had already submitted the required documents for the import shipment’s clearance, via a customs house agent, but the consignment was not released. The accused officer had, thereafter, examined the consignment and sent samples from the chemical consignment to a customs laboratory for tests. The laboratory had subsequently given its no-objection assessment, but the consignment was allegedly still not released.

The accused officer, thereafter, summoned the firm’s representatives for submission of more documents on or before November 13, 2024. Accordingly, when the complainant met the accused at his office on November 12, to discuss the queries raised, the accused official allegedly demanded an undue advantage. The CBI had verified the complaint’s allegations, after which it initiated a probe under section 7 (demand of undue advantage by a public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act into the allegations.

The CBI, meanwhile, in a separate corruption case pertaining to allegations of the demand of undue advantage by public servants, also recently arrested two Customs superintendents, Sitaram and J Iqbal, who are currently in judicial custody.