CBI informs I-T Dept, ED about seizing ₹38.38 crore cash from ex-WAPCOS chief

The ₹38.38 crore cash seizure is being termed as the investigative agency’s biggest unaccounted cash seizure from the premises of Gupta who was earlier booked for allegedly amassing ₹7.91 crore of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income

Gupta, former chairman and managing director of WAPCOS, and his son Gaurav Singal were arrested on Wednesday.

The CBI officials had conducted searches in connection with the disproportionate assets case but their eyes widened when they found bundles of ₹2000 and ₹500 currency notes neatly stacked in suitcases kept in almirahs and bedrooms of Gupta’s residences.

The agency teams found bulk of cash from Gupta’s three properties, ₹13 crore each from homes in Pitampura and Gurugram while ₹11 crore was found at son Singal’s residence in Chandigarh, the officials said.

Singal works at a leading car manufacturing company while Gupta headed WAPCOS from 2010-20, they said.

WAPCOS, previously known as Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited, is a central public sector enterprise wholly owned by the government and is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began its searches Tuesday after booking Gupta, his wife Reema Singal, son Gaurav, and daughter-in-law Komal Singal, for allegedly amassing illicit wealth to the tune of ₹7.91 crore during Gupta’s tenure as CMD from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2019, the officials said.

After getting information about illicit wealth allegedly accumulated by Gupta, the agency conducted a check for the 2011-2019 period during which it found that the former CMD had amassed assets worth ₹7.91 crore which were disproportionate to known sources of income by over 131 per cent during the period. 

Following the FIR, the CBI teams fanned across 19 locations in Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Sonipat, and Ghaziabad in a coordinated search operation leading to detection of the staggering sum for which no satisfactory explanation was provided, the officials said.

In addition to the cash, a significant quantity of jewellery, valuable items, and property documents were also seized, a CBI spokesperson had said on Wednesday.  

According to the officials, the former bureaucrat and his family were also alleged to have set up a private consultancy business in Delhi after his retirement from service.

Gupta, an engineer, had joined WAPCOS in 1989 and rose to become its CMD in 2010 for a period of five years. Subsequently his tenure was extended till September 30, 2018. He was given a further two years extension till September 30, 2020.

The alleged immovable properties of the accused consist of flats, commercial properties spread across Delhi, Gurugram, Panchkula, and Chandigarh, besides a farmhouse in Sonipat, the spokesperson said.