The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two officials of the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), along with a city-based nursing home owner, in connection with a bribery case involving the sale of a banned pharmaceutical drug.
According to CBI officials, Inspector Mahipal Singh and Inspector Ravi Ranjan of the CBN were caught red-handed in Lucknow while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹10 lakh from Ghayasuddin Ahmed, the owner of Deva Nursing Home. The officials had allegedly threatened Ahmed with false implication in a case linked to the sale of the prohibited cough syrup “Codeine.”
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The Bribery Trap and Arrests
Investigators revealed that the bribe money was accepted as part of a larger extortion attempt. Inspector Mahipal Singh had earlier apprehended a person identified as Roshan Lal for allegedly selling Codeine syrup. During the probe, Singh and his associate Ravi Ranjan allegedly sought to exploit the case further by pressuring Ahmed, claiming they could implicate him in the same offence unless he paid them a hefty sum.
CBI sources confirmed that Ahmed, under threat of being falsely accused, agreed to pay ₹10 lakh to the officers. The investigative agency set up a trap and intercepted the transaction, recovering the bribe amount in full. The arrests were carried out in Lucknow, and the evidence collected, including the seized cash, is now part of the case records.
Case Registered Against Four Accused
The CBI has registered a case against four individuals: CBN Inspectors Mahipal Singh and Ravi Ranjan, nursing home owner Ghayasuddin Ahmed, and an associate, Sunil Jaiswal. All four have been taken into custody. Officials stated that Ahmed, despite being the victim of extortion, was also booked for his involvement in the illegal transaction.
The agency emphasized that the case underscores its zero-tolerance policy towards corruption within government institutions, especially in sensitive departments like narcotics enforcement. Codeine syrup, widely misused as a narcotic substance, remains tightly regulated under Indian law.
Further investigation is underway to determine whether additional officials or private individuals were part of the bribery network. The arrests have sent shockwaves across Lucknow’s medical and enforcement circles, raising questions about corruption within agencies tasked with curbing drug-related crimes.
