A Delhi court on Tuesday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) one day's custody of 2012-batch Haryana cadre IPS officer Deepak Gahlawat, who was arrested in a corruption case linked to the alleged demand for bribes to secure favourable outcomes for accused persons in the Rs 5,000 crore Puducherry counterfeit medicines racket. 

The Rouse Avenue Court allowed the CBI's remand plea and directed that Gahlawat be produced before the court again on Wednesday, July 2.

During the hearing, the investigating agency told the court that custodial interrogation was necessary to identify the public servants whom Gahlawat allegedly claimed he could influence while offering relief to the accused in the fake medicines case.

Gahlawat, a Haryana cadre IPS officer of the 2012 batch, was serving as Regional Director with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) at the time of his arrest.

According to the CBI, Gahlawat allegedly approached prime accused N Raja, also known as Valliappan alias Rajasekhar, and claimed he could use his personal influence within the agency to secure favourable relief in the counterfeit medicines investigation.

Investigators allege that he demanded Rs 3 crore for the purported favour and had already received Rs 1 crore as the first instalment of the alleged bribe.

The agency said Gahlawat was questioned multiple times after informing his parent department before he was arrested.

Investigators are also probing whether he had any internal contacts who could have assisted in carrying out the alleged conspiracy.

The arrest comes weeks after the CBI registered a corruption case and arrested Delhi Police Crime Branch Inspector Pradeep Kumar Singh, alleged intermediary Rajkumar alias Madhanraj and several private individuals.

During the operation, the agency recovered around Rs 25 lakh as trap money and seized nearly Rs 90 lakh during searches.

According to the CBI, the money formed part of the advance payment in the alleged bribery arrangement.

The FIR states that Raja was allegedly looking for a way to secure relief in the CBI investigation and was introduced to Singh, who allegedly claimed that a senior public servant could help in exchange for money.

Raja is alleged to have arranged Rs 1 crore through a hawala network from Chennai to Delhi as the first instalment of the larger Rs 3 crore payoff.

The CBI alleges that the money was routed through intermediaries before its officers intercepted the transaction and arrested those involved.

Investigators believe the payment was intended to influence the ongoing probe into the counterfeit medicines racket.

The fake medicines case came to light after raids conducted by the Puducherry Police and the CB-CID uncovered large quantities of counterfeit drugs, packaging material and raw ingredients allegedly used in manufacturing and distributing spurious medicines.

Raja was arrested in December last year, and the investigation was later transferred to the CBI following allegations that influential individuals, including politicians, had links to the racket.

The central agency subsequently registered a fresh case against Raja before launching a parallel corruption probe into the alleged attempts to influence the investigation through bribery.

With Gahlawat now in CBI custody, investigators are expected to focus on identifying the public servants he allegedly claimed he could influence, tracing the money trail and determining whether others were involved in the alleged conspiracy.

Gahlawat is scheduled to be produced before the Rouse Avenue Court on July 2 as the investigation progresses.