A special court in Mumbai rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) remand application of Enforcement Directorate (ED) Assistant Director Vishal Deep, who was arrested in connection with the bribery case. 

The court ordered his release upon furnishing a personal recognisance bond of Rs 50,000.

The CBI arrested Deep on January 8 from Andheri West, alleging his involvement in bribery cases linked to two First Information Reports (FIRs). One FIR, registered in Chandigarh on December 22, accused Deep of accepting bribes from an individual implicated in the Himachal Pradesh Scholarship Scam.

The CBI claimed Deep demanded Rs. 1.10 crore bribe from Himalayan group of professional institutions chairman Rajnish Bansal for not arresting him in a money laundering case being probed by the ED. The amount was negotiated down to Rs. 60 lakh, the probe agency said. There is a recording of accused Deep talking to the complainant before the delivery of the bribe amount and he was present near the spot where the bribe was handed over to co-accused Vikas Deep and Niraj by the complainant, the CBI claimed.