The 2 officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) — Senior Intelligence Officer Deepak Kumar and Inspector Chetan Parekh — have been suspended over serious allegations of illegal detention, bribery, and misconduct in connection with a duty evasion case involving the import of insecticides.
The action followed a detailed complaint lodged by Prateebha Vyas, wife of Shailesh Vyas, owner of Barna International Shipping, who has been arrested in the case. In her complaint to the DRI, Prateebha alleged that the two officials had demanded a ₹50 lakh bribe to “settle the matter” and avoid implicating her in the ongoing probe.
Detention and Arrest Without Warrant
According to the complaint, on September 30, DRI officials detained Shailesh Vyas at Kolkata Airport upon his arrival from Dubai, keeping him in custody for nearly ten hours without any lookout circular or arrest warrant. He was subsequently arrested and produced before a Mumbai court on October 1, accused of smuggling insecticides disguised as freely importable chemicals and undervaluing the goods to evade customs duty.
The DRI alleged that Vyas had diverted the imported insecticides into the domestic market, violating import regulations. Vyas, however, denied all charges, asserting that the import documentation was legitimate and transparent.
Bribe Demand and Illegal Seizure Allegations
During the remand proceedings, Prateebha alleged that DRI officers Kumar and Parekh approached her with a demand of ₹50 lakh, claiming they could “bury the case” if the money was paid in full. She further stated that the officials warned her she could also be made an accused if she failed to comply.
The complaint mentions that the officials allegedly contacted her multiple times through Suresh Nanda, a clearing and forwarding agent known to the Vyas family. Both Nanda and Prateebha were reportedly summoned to Andheri for the alleged payoff.
“When I told them I could not arrange the full amount, Parekh insisted that unless ₹50 lakh was given in one go, they would proceed with the case,” the complaint stated.
Through her advocate Vinod Gangwal, Prateebha also accused the officers of illegally seizing her husband’s mobile phone without preparing a seizure memo, in violation of established DRI procedures.
Complaint Corroborated by Call Records
Sources indicated that preliminary scrutiny of call data and tower location records corroborated several elements of the complaint, including the alleged meetings and communications between the complainant, Nanda, and the suspended officials.
Following the internal inquiry, the Principal Commissioner of Customs (General), Mumbai, ordered the immediate suspension of both officials pending further investigation.
