Initially, the CBI had registered two FIRs against Vikas in a bribery case. (file)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a fresh case of corruption against senior Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer Vishal Deep and his brother Vikas Deep, a Punjab National Bank manager, for allegedly amassing assets worth Rs 93.24 lakh disproportionate to their known income sources between March 1 and December 31, 2024.
The case was registered on Tuesday, a month after the Supreme Court had granted bail to Vishal, who was earlier arrested by the CBI for allegedly seeking bribes from two private college administrators during a probe into the Himachal Pradesh scholarship scam. In January, he was arrested by the Panchkula police on charges of extortion from Mumbai.
An FIR was registered against Vishal and Vikas on the basis of a complaint filed by CBI inspector Arun Ahlawat. The CBI alleged in the FIR, “This preliminary inquiry was initiated based on evidence that emerged during the investigation of two trap cases (RC-33/2024 and RC-34/2024) registered in 2024, and a disproportionate assets (DA) case, where Rs 56.41 lakh in unaccounted cash (excluding trap money) and incriminating documents were seized. An additional Rs 14.73 lakh cash was recovered from a Gurgaon location.”
The CBI further alleged that data from the accused’s departments, banks, and insurance firms revealed “illicit enrichment by Vishal during his public service tenure, with Vikas abetting via family bank accounts”. “Analysis also revealed that Vishal, who was then working as an Assistant Director at the ED, Shimla branch, had acquired and spent assets far exceeding his known sources of income during the period from March 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024,” the agency added.
In his anticipatory bail application filed before the Chandigarh CBI court in January, Vishal alleged that he was being victimised at the behest of the CBI while conducting a discreet enquiry into alleged illegal acts committed by CBI officials. He had claimed that he was falsely implicated in a corruption case by the CBI to shield senior agency officers and the complainants involved in corrupt activities.