A chartered accountant and two government officials were arrested by the CBI on Thursday for the alleged theft and sale of policy papers.

Several firms under the scanner

The Central Bureau of Investigation has identified the three arrested for the alleged theft and sale of foreign investment policy papers to corporates as Ashok Kumar Singh, Under Secretary in the Department of Disinvestment and Grievances; Lala Ram Sharma, Section Officer in the Department of Economic Affairs; and Mumbai-based chartered accountant Khemchand Gandhi, who works as a consultant for corporate firms.

According to the CBI, several companies, including HDFC Bank, DLF Limitless Private Limited, IndusInd Bank, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Kakardi British Realty, Modril India, Prime Living and NovaLead Pharma are presently under the scanner.

However, the agency is yet to approach these companies to cross-check facts. Officials of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank did not respond to queries. Some switched off their mobile phones to avoid answering calls. All these three entities are headquartered in Mumbai.

In a statement, DLF Limited strongly denied having any links with DLF Limitless. NovaLead Pharma is based in Pune and it has a global R&D centre there.

The CBI probe revealed that documents from the Finance and the Commerce ministries were allegedly being sold to the chartered accountant, who would in turn supply the policy papers to top private firms.

The accused have claimed that they had been operating for the past two years. Acting on a tip-off, the agency recently mounted surveillance on the officials, who would courier the papers allegedly to the chartered accountant for pecuniary gains.

On Thursday, CBI sleuths intercepted one such courier in Mumbai containing a file, following which the suspects were detained for questioning. They were arrested late in the evening.

Searches were conducted on the premises of the accused persons in Delhi and Mumbai. The CBI also searched offices of the Department of Economic Affairs and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in Delhi. “We have seized a huge pile of documents and Rs. 60 lakh from the premises of the accused Chartered Accountant,” said a CBI official, adding that a case under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered.