After Bansal case, CBI DIG not part of 2G probe

New Delhi: A month after DIG Sanjeev Gautam was removed from the team probing a corruption case against former director-general of corporate affairs B.K. Bansal, the CBI has now removed him from the team probing the high-profile 2G scam. Mr Gautam, a 1995 batch IRS officer (customs and central excise), has now been sent back to his parent department.

Mr Bansal allegedly hanged himself, along with his son, at their residence in east Delhi on September 27 with a purported suicide note claiming “harassment” by CBI officials, including Mr Gautam, barely two months after his wife and daughter ended their lives following his arrest in the corruption case.

In the suicide note purportedly signed by Mr Bansal, it is alleged that his wife and daughter had shared the details of “torture” with friends and neighbours before taking the extreme step. He alleged that the CBI DIG also claimed that “he was close to a politician of the ruling party” and dared Mr Bansal to do whatever he wanted.

An additional secretary-rank officer in the ministry of corporate affairs, Mr Bansal was arrested by the CBI on July 16 for allegedly accepting a bribe from a prominent pharmaceutical company.

On September 28, a day after Mr Bansal’s suicide, the CBI initiated an internal inquiry to probe the allegations of torture made by him.

“The Central investigating agency has already completed an internal probe looking into allegations of torture against Gautam. The probe report has been sent to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also as the commission had expressed deep anguish and shock over the incident and issued notice to the agency,” sources said. Earlier, Mr Gautam was removed from the team probing the case against Mr Bansal, and now he has been removed from the 2G scam probe also after seeking mandatory permission from the competent court to relieve him.