BREAKING NEWS: Hours ahead of polling, CBI arrests OSD to Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on bribery charges

Gopal Krishna Madhav, who is posted in the office of Delhi Deputy CM, was nabbed by the CBI after he was allegedly caught red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 2 Lakh.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a Delhi government officer Gopal Krishna Madhav, who is posted as Officer On Special Duty (OSD) to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on bribery charges.

Gopal Krishna Madhav, an Andaman Nicobar Island Civil Services (DANICS) officer who is posted in the office of Delhi Deputy CM, was nabbed by the CBI after he was allegedly caught red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 2 Lakh. According to sources, the central agency had laid a trap and caught him red-handed while taking a bribe to settle a tax evasion matter.

Subsequently, he was taken to the agency headquarters for questioning and formally placed under arrest. However, no involvement of Manish Sisodia in the case has been established so far and the investigation is going on, the sources said.

As per the Delhi government website, Madhav was appointed as an OSD to the Deputy Chief Minister in 2015. The arrest comes several hours ahead of the crucial assembly election in Delhi.

Earlier on Thursday, a criminal complaint was filed against Sisodia for allegedly inciting violence by blaming Delhi Police for setting transport buses on fire during the violence in Jamia Millia Islamia in December. 

The high-voltage campaigning for Delhi Assembly election came to an end on Thursday. Aiming to dislodge AAP from power in Delhi after a gap of 22 years, the BJP targetted the ruling party over its support to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests at Shaheen Bagh and failure to deliver on key promises. 

Addressing a public meeting, BJP MP Parvesh Verma referred to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal as 'terrorist'. While PM Narendra Modi made references to Shaheen Bagh and labelled it as an experiment to damage the national harmony, Home Minister Amit Shah spearheaded the campaign around Ram temple, CAA, abrogation of Article 370 and other nationalistic issues.

The AAP, on the other hand, highlighted government's achievements in the past five years and sough vote on good governance and issues such as free electricity, water, education, free bus rides to women etc. Delhi will go to polls on February 8, while the results will be declared on February 11.