Crorepati official to be produced in court

The CBI will on Tuesday produce Central Excise Commissioner P K Ajwani before a Mumbai court in connection with his plea for anticipatory bail.

Ajwani is facing charges of corruption after a CBI raid on his house revealed assets amounting to over Rs three crore. He had moved the court of Sessions Judge U D Salvi seeking bail.

The judge asked him to present himself in court. It refused bail and adjourned the matter till Tuesday.

Meanwhile, he was arrested following his discharge from a local hospital on September 25. Ajwani prayed for bail on medical grounds and denied the charges of corruption.

Also Read CBI recovers Rs 2.7 crore from excise official

Meanwhile, the CBI found another flat allegedly owned by Ajwani at Nana Chowk in central Mumbai. It had been purchased in the name of his mother-in-law. The recovery of this flat has increased the value of Ajwani's alleged assets to nearly Rs seven crore, sources said.

Earlier, during raids on Ajwani's and his friend's residences, the CBI claimed to have seized assets running into crores, including Rs 3.14 crore cash. The agency claimed that it was the biggest seizure ever from a government official.

According to the CBI, his family members had put cash in bags and deposited them in the house of Ajwani's friend at Nana Chowk.

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The CBI alleges that Ajwani had demanded Rs 1.5 crore from a businessman but settled the deal for Rs 50 lakh. However, the businessman informed the CBI, which raided Ajwani's house and claimed to have recovered unaccounted wealth.

Special Public Prosecutor Ejaz Khan told PTI that the CBI would seek Ajwani's remand till October 1.