New Delhi, July 1: The CBI arrested a Bangalore-based additional director of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on the charge of accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from an excise inspector, reports our special correspondent.

The excise official had alleged in a criminal complaint to the bureau that K.S. Bhatt was demanding “illegal gratification” of Rs 5 lakh to drop a case against him.

The CBI said the excise official himself was earlier arrested and suspended — later reinstated — after the customs (preventive) department raided his Bangalore export firm in a financial fraud case. Bhatt was then the deputy commissioner of the customs (preventive) unit.

A CBI spokesman denied a news agency report from Bangalore that the “CBI let off a top Directorate of Revenue Intelligence official (Bhatt) here after a bribery charge against him turned out to be unfounded.” Bhatt was not let off, the spokesman said, but was released on bail.