CBI books Health Ministry official for demanding bribe

CBI has lodged an FIR against an Under Secretary in the Ministry of Health for allegedly demanding bribe from a US-based Indian person

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lodged an FIR against an Under Secretary in the Ministry of Health for allegedly demanding bribe from a US-based Indian person for issuing a Statement of Need from the ministry.

The individual wanted the Statement of Need for official purposes. A senior CBI official said that they got a complaint in this regard on April 4 from one Ram Gulam, a resident of Ballabhgarh in Faridabad.

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Gulam alleged that his friend Yashpal Chokker’s son Aditya Chokker, who lives in the US, had applied for a Statement of Need from the Ministry of Health.

Sonu Kumar, an Under Secretary, Ministry of Health, demanded a bribe from him in exchange for issuing the Statement of Need.

“The complainant has enclosed the printout of the said certificate which was sent by Sonu Kumar to Yashpal Chokker through e-mail, which Yashpal then forwarded to the complainant on WhatApp. Chokker did not want to pay the demanded bribe,” the CBI said.

The official said that the FIR was lodged under Section 7 of the PC Act.