Mumbai: In a rare instance of a top bureaucrat being arrested for corruption, CBI nabbed Maharashtra and Goa chief postmaster general Manjit Singh Bali late on Wednesday night for allegedly accepting bribe of Rs 2 crore for granting a builder a no objection certificate to develop a plot, a portion of which was reserved for a post office in Thane.
Bali and two arrested middlemen — a father-son duo, Arun Dalmiya and Harsh — were remanded in police custody till March 3 by a special CBI court. According to CBI, a search at Bali’s office and residence in south Mumbai led to the recovery of Rs 34 lakh and foreign currency — $10,722, £3,050 and euro 3,470 — in four briefcases. The agency also found seven high-end Apple and Vaio laptops apart from 45 bottles of imported liquor. Bali also owns properties in Faridabad, Panchkula, Dwarka, Bhopal and Gurgaon — their collective worth is still being evaluated. He has 22 bank accounts with a balance of Rs 26 lakh. CBI also seized a bank locker in Gwalior.
The search of Dalmiyas’ premises resulted in the recovery of Rs 6 lakh. ‘‘We’ve informed Enforcement Directorate regarding the huge amount of foreign currency recovered from Bali’s residence,’’ CBI joint director Rishi Raj Singh said.
Bali, a 1978 batch officer of the Indian Postal Services, made acquaintance with the Dalmiyas six months ago. ‘‘The duo did some outsourcing work for the postal department and came in contact with Bali,’’ CBI SP Abhin Modak said. The Dalmiyas ran Watermark Financial Consultancy at Nariman Point. The CBI acted on the complaint of Rita Shah, ex-corporator from Mira-Bhayander, who, on behalf of the builder, approached Bali in January seeking permission to develop 2,000 sq metre land worth Rs 4 crore in Thane. An NOC was required because 25% of the land was to be used for setting up a post office.