ES Ranganathan was appointed Director (Advertising and marketing) of GAIL in July 2020 (File)
New Delhi:
The federal government has suspended ES Ranganathan, Director (Advertising and marketing) of GAIL (India) Ltd, after his arrest by the CBI over allegedly taking bribes to provide reductions to non-public firms shopping for petrochemical merchandise from the state-owned gasoline utility.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Pure Gasoline on January 17 issued orders suspending Ranganathan from service, pending probe, official sources mentioned.
Ranganathan, who was appointed Director (Advertising and marketing) of GAIL in July 2020, was to superannuate in Could subsequent yr.
The CBI had on Friday night began searches in reference to reductions that Ranganathan had allegedly promised to non-public firms in alternate for a bribe of Rs 50 lakh. On Saturday, it searched Ranganathan’s residence in Noida and his workplace at GAIL’s headquarters at Bhikaji Cama Place. The workplace was sealed and Ranganathan was questioned.
Whereas CBI had arrested some individuals of the personal firms on Saturday itself, Ranganathan was arrested on January 16 after acquiring requisite sanctions, sources mentioned.
Subsequent to his suspension, the ministry on Tuesday issued an order giving “extra cost of director (advertising) to M.V. Iyer, Director (Enterprise Growth), GAIL for a interval of three months from January 18, 2022 or until appointment of a daily incumbent to the publish, or till additional orders, whichever is the earliest.” GAIL in a regulatory submitting on Tuesday mentioned it has complied with the ministry order and entrusted an extra cost of the publish of Director (Advertising and marketing), GAIL to Iyer.
On Monday, the corporate had knowledgeable the inventory exchanges that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR in opposition to Ranganathan and different personal individuals on expenses of felony conspiracy, demand and acquiring undue benefit by public servant, taking undue benefit to affect public servant, bribing public servant and so forth.
“Additional, CBI searched on the premise(s) of Shri ES Ranganathan, Director (Advertising and marketing) of the Firm and different personal individuals in reference to the mentioned case,” it had mentioned including Ranganathan has additionally been arrested in reference to the mentioned case.
“Firm shouldn’t be conscious of any info aside from these revealed or reported within the media,” it had mentioned. “At this stage no estimated monetary impression or estimated quantity might be ascertained.” The CBI had final week said that it had unearthed the alleged bribery rip-off involving Ranganathan, middlemen, and businessmen and arrested 5 people on Saturday.
The central company had performed searches at eight places together with the workplace and residence of Ranganathan, sources mentioned.
“Money of Rs 1.29 crore (approx), and gold jewelry and different valuables (having app worth of Rs 1.25 crore) recovered throughout searches from the premises of mentioned accused (Ranganathan),” CBI Spokesperson RC Joshi had mentioned on Sunday.
It alleged that Ranganathan was gathering bribes from potential beneficiaries of reductions to non-public firms shopping for petrochemical merchandise marketed by the Maharatna PSU.
Ranganathan, it alleged, was “indulging into corrupt and unlawful actions in felony conspiracy” with middlemen Pawan Gaur and Rajesh Kumar who can be director of Rishab Polychem Pvt. Ltd primarily based at Bahadurgarh Street, Delhi.
Kumar and Gaur allegedly acted as Ranganathan’s middlemen by taking bribes from the personal firms shopping for petrochemical merchandise marketed by GAIL, the FIR alleged.
Primarily based on info of 1 such bribery alternate, the CBI groups had performed a lure operation through which two middlemen Gaur and Kumar have been nabbed with the bribe quantity of about 10 lakh which was collected on behalf of Ranganathan, the CBI had alleged. Later, Nair, Gupta and Bansal have been additionally taken into CBI custody.
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