BHUBANESWAR: A day after the CBI arrested deputy director of Enforcement Directorate (ED) Chintan Raghuvanshi and middleman Bhakti Binod Behera on charges of demanding and accepting bribe from city-based businessman Ratikanta Rout to settle a case, alleged association of Behera with several senior IPS and IRS officers in the state has come under the central agency’s scanner.
The CBI during background check of Behera has found his photographs with IRS, IPS, Customs, Transport and state police officials on his social media accounts.
CBI sources said, Behera is a businessman and learnt to be owning a coaching centre in Saheed Nagar. He is the director of at least five entities which were registered between 2021 and 2023. It is being probed if they are legitimate or shell companies.
“He has posted photographs with IRS, IPS, Customs and other senior ranking officials on his social media accounts. His connection with them is under investigation,” the sources said.
“Interestingly, Behera had also posted a picture of him at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) in Hyderabad earlier in the year. His choice of photo captions also indicate his hunger for power. He captioned one of the photographs as ‘small dream is a crime’,” the CBI sources added.
Behera’s social media also gives a glimpse into his lavish lifestyle and trips to various places in the country and abroad. He had reportedly visited Pattaya in Thailand earlier in the year.
Behera allegedly acted as the front for Raghuvanshi and caught red-handed while accepting Rs 20 lakh from Rout as bribe on behalf of the ED officer. Raghuvanshi had allegedly demanded Rs 5 crore for settling a case of financial irregularities against Rout and after negotiating had lowered the sum to Rs 2 crore with Rs 50 lakh as the first installment.
Rout had then lodged a complaint with the CBI following which the ED officer and Behera were arrested.