# Haryana-cadre IPS officer Deepak Gehlawat arrested by CBI over bribery demand in Puducherry's Rs 5,000 crore fake drugs case

> The CBI has arrested Haryana-cadre 2012-batch IPS officer Deepak Gehlawat for allegedly demanding a bribe in Puducherry's nearly Rs 5,000 crore fake drugs racket case, though he has denied all the charges in court.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Haryana · **Published:** 2026-07-02 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/haryana/haryana-kaidara-ke-aipiesa-adhikari-deepak-gehlawat-puducherry-nakali-dava-raiketa-men-rishvata-mangane-ke-aropa-men-giraphtara-4072 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Deepak Gehlawat, CBI, IPS officer, fake drugs racket, Puducherry, bribery case, Haryana cadre, Rouse Avenue Court

A 2012-batch Indian Police Service officer from the Haryana cadre, Deepak Gehlawat, has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with a nearly Rs 5,000 crore fake drugs racket uncovered in Puducherry. The CBI has accused him of demanding a bribe from the main accused in the case in exchange for going easy on him during the investigation. According to the agency, Gehlawat sought Rs 3 crore for offering relief in the probe and had already collected Rs 1 crore of that amount. He has denied all the allegations in court, telling the judge that not a single rupee was recovered from his bank account. The case has drawn attention partly because the officer under the scanner is himself a medal-winning sportsman with a notable career record.

## Who is Deepak Gehlawat?
Deepak Gehlawat belongs to the 2012 batch of the Indian Police Service. He was selected directly into the IPS through the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. His cadre is Haryana, and government records also list Haryana as his home state. He formally joined the IPS on September 3, 2012, and has held various responsibilities within the police department since then.

## An IIT Roorkee engineer who cracked the UPSC exam on his first attempt
Before entering the administrative services, Gehlawat trained as an engineer. He earned a B.E. in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. After completing his engineering degree, he began preparing for the UPSC examination, widely regarded as one of the toughest in the country, and cleared it on his very first attempt, which earned him a place in the Indian Police Service. His journey from an engineering background straight into the IPS has remained a defining part of his professional profile.

## Postings and responsibilities in the police service
After joining the IPS, Gehlawat's early postings were in Haryana. He served as a police officer in several districts across the state, handling law and order along with a number of important responsibilities, and was promoted to senior positions over time. During his tenure with the Haryana Police, he held several key roles, including with the Gurugram Police. He was later deputed to the central government, where he was appointed Joint Director and subsequently Regional Director at the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, or BCAS. BCAS is the important agency responsible for overseeing security arrangements at the country's airports, and the posting is considered a significant responsibility in his career.

## A bronze medal for India in powerlifting
Apart from being a police officer, Gehlawat has also been an accomplished powerlifter. In 2025, he represented India at the World Police and Fire Games held in Birmingham in the United States. In the men's Push-Pull event at the competition, he lifted 240 kilograms to win a bronze medal. BCAS congratulated him for the achievement, and at the time he was counted among a select group of police officers who had brought recognition to India on an international sporting stage. The recognition from the world of sport had made him a talked-about figure both within and outside the police department.

## The Rs 5,000 crore fake drugs racket behind the case
The case is linked to a large racket involving fake and adulterated medicines worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore that came to light in Puducherry. Last year, the Puducherry Police and the CB-CID carried out raids and recovered huge quantities of fake drugs along with the raw material used to manufacture them. The main accused in the racket, N. Raja, also known as Valliappan or Rajashekhar, was arrested in December. As the investigation progressed and the names of several political and influential figures began to surface, the case was handed over to the CBI. The agency registered a fresh FIR in March this year and began its own investigation, since when new layers of the racket have continued to come to light.

## How the bribery allegation surfaced
According to the CBI, its investigation found that Gehlawat had himself contacted the main accused, Raja, and claimed to have good connections within the CBI. The agency alleges that he demanded Rs 3 crore in exchange for offering relief in the investigation, and that Rs 1 crore of that amount had already been collected from the accused. The CBI says the money was allegedly routed through a hawala network, making the transaction harder to trace.

## Delhi Police inspector among other arrests
The CBI has already arrested several people in the case, including Delhi Police Crime Branch Inspector Pradeep Kumar Singh. During the investigation, around Rs 25 lakh in trap money, close to Rs 90 lakh in cash, and several important documents were recovered. The agency claims that Raja arranged Rs 1 crore through hawala, and that the money was routed through several people in an attempt to reach Gehlawat, suggesting more than one person may have been involved in delivering the funds.

## What happened in court
Gehlawat was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi, where the special judge put a pointed question to the CBI during the hearing. The court asked why, if the officer had invoked the name of an influential person within the CBI while demanding money, the agency had not tried to establish who that person actually was. The judge sought a response from the investigating officer on this point and remarked that adequate investigation had not been carried out in that direction so far. Gehlawat, for his part, rejected all the charges against him in court. He said he had not called any acquaintance at the CBI between May and June, and that not a single rupee had been recovered from his bank account. Despite his submissions, the court allowed the CBI one day of custodial interrogation.

## What the CBI is investigating next
The CBI is now trying to establish whether any other government official or middleman was involved in the case. It is also examining whether the contacts Gehlawat claimed to have actually existed. The agency's probe additionally covers the hawala network, the money trail, and the roles of other people linked to the fake drugs racket. Gehlawat currently remains under the CBI's scanner, with the agency continuing to question him and examine all the evidence connected to the case. What emerges from this questioning in the coming days is expected to determine whether the scope of the investigation widens further.

## What this means for you
- **Across India:** The arrest signals that the CBI is willing to act against senior officers allegedly involved in shielding fake drugs rackets, which matters for accountability in cases that put unsafe medicines into circulation.
- **In Puducherry:** The nearly Rs 5,000 crore fake drugs racket at the centre of the case was a direct risk to patients and the local medicine supply there, so the CBI's widening probe points to tighter scrutiny of the drug trade in the region.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. Who is Deepak Gehlawat?
He is a 2012-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre who studied Civil Engineering at IIT Roorkee and cleared the UPSC exam on his first attempt.

### 2. What case has the CBI arrested him in?
He has been arrested for allegedly demanding a bribe from the main accused in a probe into a nearly Rs 5,000 crore fake drugs racket uncovered in Puducherry.

### 3. How much bribe was he allegedly demanding?
The CBI alleges he demanded Rs 3 crore in exchange for relief in the investigation, of which Rs 1 crore had already been collected.

### 4. What has Deepak Gehlawat said about the allegations?
He has rejected all the charges in court and said not a single rupee was recovered from his bank account.

### 5. Who else has been arrested in this case?
Delhi Police Crime Branch Inspector Pradeep Kumar Singh and several others have already been arrested.

### 6. Who is the main accused in the fake drugs racket?
The main accused is N. Raja, also known as Valliappan or Rajashekhar, who was arrested in December.

### 7. What did the court order?
The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi allowed the CBI one day of custodial interrogation of Deepak Gehlawat.

### 8. What is the CBI investigating next?
The CBI is trying to find out whether any other government official or middleman was involved, and whether the contacts Gehlawat claimed to have actually existed.

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