Rahul Bansal, a 2022-batch IPS officer, is facing allegations of demanding and accepting a bribe of over Rs 1 crore through hawala channels to settle a cybercrime case in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district. Currently posted as the City SP in Ambikapur, Bansal has not commented on the allegations. His lawyer, Manish Tiwari, has also refused to comment.
The case stems from an alleged share market fraud amounting to Rs 21.15 lakh. A local investor, Ravi Moham Goswami, had filed a complaint with the police, leading to the registration of an FIR on July 22 last year. The FIR was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, and sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
As part of the probe overseen by Bansal, police arrested 23 people across states and filed five chargesheets. However, a complaint was later filed with the CBI, alleging that Bansal and his subordinates had demanded and accepted a bribe of over Rs 1 crore to settle the case. The CBI court has sought reports from the Chhattisgarh DGP and CBI Director, which have been submitted.
A video of Bansal’s mock UPSC interview has gone viral, in which he narrates an incident where he paid a bribe of Rs 500 to a panchayat secretary to obtain his brother’s birth certificate. Bansal expressed regret over paying the bribe, stating that it was disappointing that a civil servant would engage in such behavior. The contrast between Bansal’s remarks in the mock interview and the allegations against him has drawn wide attention.
Bansal, an IIT-BHU graduate, had a diverse career before joining the IPS. He worked as an associate engineer with Qualcomm, an income tax inspector with the Central Board of Direct Taxes, and completed various certificate courses. He cleared the Union Public Service Examination in 2022, securing rank 377, and was allocated the Chhattisgarh cadre.
The case against Bansal remains pending, with the CBI court yet to take further action. The allegations against him have raised questions about the integrity of civil servants and the need for police reforms.
