New Delhi: A retired captain of the Indian Navy allegedly acquired a ground-floor and a basement in Delhi’s upscale Safdarjung Enclave, two land plots in Gurugram and Panchkula, and a space in Gurugram’s Electronic City. The Delhi and Panchkula properties were valued at over Rs one crore, while the Gurugram industrial premises were valued at Rs 92 lakh.
Now, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has accused former Navy captain Raminder Singh Wadhwa of amassing assets disproportionate to his legitimate source of income between April 2010 and March 2020, when he was serving in the Indian Navy. The agency booked Wadhwa last week under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018.
According to the CBI’s FIR, Wadhwa and his three family members—his wife and two children—amassed assets 46 percent more than their legitimate and declared income.
In April 2010, Wadhwa and his family had three immovable assets valued at Rs 2.25 crore and movable assets of Rs 5.93 crore in bank balances. By March 2020, the family had acquired seven additional immovable assets valued at Rs 6.2 crore, while the bank balance had shot up to Rs 69.22 lakh, according to the CBI FIR.
The CBI reported this jump, allegedly without considering the purchase of a land plot and the construction of a farmhouse in Panchkula during the same period.
Commissioned into the Indian Navy as a sub-lieutenant in July 1999, Wadhwa rose through the ranks to serve in strategically essential wings of the Navy, such as the headquarters of the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which oversees nuclear submarines, as well as the Directorate of Network Centric Operations (DNCO), which plans and implements warfare capabilities. He was promoted to the rank of a commander in June 2006, followed by elevation to the rank of captain in August 2016. He retired from service in May 2024.
According to the FIR filed by the CBI last week, Wadhwa, along with his wife and two children, had a total income of Rs 6.55 crore from salaries and rental income in the April 2010-March 2020 period. The CBI alleged that the family’s expenditure during the same period stood at Rs 5.15 crore.
“The suspect officer reportedly constructed a farmhouse on the land purchased by him in 2011 at Panchkula. The expenditure incurred on construction of said farmhouse, and its maintenance, has not been considered. The movable assets including vehicles, etc., which were reportedly acquired by Sh R. S. Wadhwa during the check period are also not considered,” the agency documented in the FIR.
“Similarly, various expenditures incurred by him and family members, including expenditure on education of his children, have also not been considered. As such, the amount of disproportionate assets is likely to increase during investigation once these expenditures are also considered. Moreover, the properties acquired by Sh R. S. Wadhwa are situated in posh areas, and he, along with his family members, have reportedly led a lavish and extravagant lifestyle,” it further stated.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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