CBFC CEO Rakesh Kumar being produced in court. CBFC CEO Rakesh Kumar being produced in court.

The Censor Board chief's tale of graft has sloshed over into blockbuster territory, and shows no signs of slowing down. A massive bribery scandal has hit Bollywood after the arrest of the Chief Executive Officer of the Central Board of Film Certification, Rakesh Kumar. The new twist in the plot leaves behind the old stuff of exploited small-time filmmakers to feature big ticket Bollywood producers allegedly greasing the palms of CBFC officials for censor clearance.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has gathered information that producers of movies starring Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Vidya Balan and Ajay Devgn allegedly approached Kumar and offered bribes to get clearances as they feared item numbers and other scenes could be chopped, leading to a delay in the release of films.

Sources said Kumar demanded Rs 1.5 lakh for screening a film in three to four days for clearance; Rs 25,000 for screening in seven to eight days and Rs 15,000 for a short film. Sources said the recent Ajay Devgn-Kareena Kapoor film Singham Returns, Vidya Balan's Bobby Jasoos and Salman Khan's Kick all ran into trouble with the censor board and Kumar was allegedly paid off for their clearance.

"He threatened to cut item numbers and scenes. He demanded a bribe for these and film-makers had no choice but to pay up, fearing heavy losses if the release got delayed," said a CBI officer.

Under scanner

Sources said Rakesh Kumar demanded Rs 1.5 lakh for screening a film in three to four days for clearance. Sources said Rakesh Kumar demanded Rs 1.5 lakh for screening a film in three to four days for clearance.

A source said Kumar demanded a bribe from the producers of a film starring Shah Rukh Khan that is yet to be released. Presumably, this is Happy New Year, slated for a blockbuster Diwali release with 3,600 prints. Sources said all movies cleared after Kumar took over as CEO in January were under the CBI's scanner as the agency suspects him of running a well-organised racket. The CBI arrested Kumar in an alleged bribery case on Monday, four days after carrying out raids at his residence in Mumbai.

The agency has informed a court in Mumbai that Kumar, along with others, was part of a big conspiracy that needs to be investigated.

"It needs to be investigated for whom he issued the certificates (at different points of time) and we also need to get the names of producers, directors and agents," the CBI told the court while seeking his custody.

Out of turn

The CBI has further alleged that Kumar used to issue certificates out of turn. Thirty-three watches of expensive brands like Rolex and Rado were found at his home; he did not disclose how they were obtained. Sources said properties owned by Kumar are under the scanner, and the CBI is likely to register a case of disproportionate assets against him.

Earlier, the agency arrested an authorised agent and a CBFC advisory panel member for allegedly taking bribes on behalf of Kumar. The CBI stumbled on these big revelations as it began its probe into allegations by an authorised agent for censor certification that another agent, Shripati Mishra, had been demanding Rs 70,000 on behalf of Kumar for issuing the censor certificate for a film from Chhattisgarh called Mor Dauki Ke Bihav.

The agency has informed a court in Mumbai that Kumar, along with others, was part of a big conspiracy that needs to be investigated. The agency has informed a court in Mumbai that Kumar, along with others, was part of a big conspiracy that needs to be investigated.

Mishra was trapped while demanding and accepting the bribe of Rs 70,000 on behalf of Kumar. Sarvesh Jaiswal, advisory panel member of the CBFC, was nabbed while accepting the bribe on behalf of Kumar. Mishra, during his interrogation, revealed he allegedly paid Kumar Rs 5 lakh after being directed to accept bribes on his behalf.

Sources said Jaiswal spilled the beans and told interrogators that Kumar had been demanding bribes from top producers. "He named some of them. We have got a three-day custody of Kumar and will be grilling him about his network," a CBI officer said.

Meanwhile, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has decided to suspend Kumar. An officer of the Indian Railways Personnel Service, Kumar took over as CEO of CBFC in January. He was a rank outsider with no experience in censoring films as he had never even worked as a regional officer in CBFC, which would have equipped him to do the job. He holds a diploma in films.