An old mock interview video of Chhattisgarh-cadre IPS officer Rahul Bansal has resurfaced on social media after he was named in a complaint alleging that Rs 1 crore was demanded and received to settle a cyber fraud case.
Bansal, a 2022-batch IPS officer, has been named along with two other police personnel in the complaint. The allegations have not been proven and are currently under judicial scrutiny. The resurfaced video dates back to the period when Bansal was preparing for the civil services examination. During the mock interview, he was questioned about corruption and asked how he would react if he came across a government official accepting a bribe of Rs 500.
In the video, Bansal described accepting even a Rs 500 bribe as “very bad” and spoke about the importance of acting against corruption. The clip has now gained fresh attention because of the stark contrast between his remarks at the time and the serious allegations he currently faces.
The controversy relates to a cyber fraud investigation in Chhattisgarh. Bansal and two police personnel have been accused of demanding and accepting Rs 1 crore in return for allegedly influencing the handling of the case.
Bansal was on his first field posting when the alleged events took place. The other police personnel named in reports are Assistant Sub-Inspector Praveen Kumar Rathore and constable Anshul Sharma.
The matter has now reached a special CBI court in Delhi, bringing the allegations under greater scrutiny.
The special court has sought Action Taken Reports from both the Director General of Police of Chhattisgarh and the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the complaint.
Reports said the complaint contains allegations about the circumstances in which the money was purportedly demanded and transferred in connection with the cyber fraud investigation.
The court proceedings do not amount to a finding of guilt, and the accusations against Bansal and the other personnel remain allegations unless established through investigation and judicial proceedings.
Bansal's old interview has meanwhile spread rapidly across social media, with users highlighting his comments about corruption while discussing the case against him.
The officer had entered the IPS after clearing the civil services examination and was allotted the Chhattisgarh cadre. Before joining the police service, he had also worked with the Income Tax Department.
The case is expected to progress further after the CBI and the Chhattisgarh police submit details of the action taken on the complaint to the court.