Army officer, middleman in army postings racket sent to judicial custody

New Delhi: A court here on Monday sent to judicial custody till June 17 an army officer and a middleman arrested in connection with a transfer racket at the Army headquarters here.

Special CBI Judge Naresh Kumar Malhotra sent Lt. Col Ranganathan Suvramani Moni, posted in the Personnel Department, and Gaurav Kohli to custody after the Central Bureau of Investigation said the duo were not required for further custodial interrogation.

Moni was arrested along with Kohli from thhe former's residence here following a tip-off.

The two were produced before the court after the expiry of their three-day CBI custody. Kohli also filed bail plea stating that since he was not required for a further probe, he should be released on bail.

The court will hear the application on June 9.

CBI said Moni and Kohli took a bribe for the transfer of a Bengaluru-based Army officer to a choice posting.

CBI teams conducted raids on the premises of the accused and others at over 10 places in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Thiruvananthapuram and seized Rs 10 lakh and several incriminating documents, said the investigating agency.

The agency said both were arrested when Kohli visited Moni's house to deliver him Rs 2 lakh, a part of the Rs 5 lakh bribe, for the transfer of Army officer S. Subhas.

"With their arrest, the CBI has busted a transfer racket in the Army Headquarters here that involved manipulation of Army postings in lieu of illegal gratification," the CBI said.

Besides Moni and Kohli, the CBI has registered an FIR against a Secunderabad-based Army officer Purushottam, S. Subhas and other unnamed persons for criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Moni was commissioned in the Army in August 1994 and was posted at the Army Headquarters since August 2015. He belongs to Thiruvananthapuram.