A complaint filed by airport taxi operators has snowballed into a full-blown CBI case, ensnaring two top-ranking officials of Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) — the operating entity behind Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Mohali — for alleged extortion, criminal conspiracy, and demand of undue advantage as public servants.The CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Chandigarh, has registered an FIR against Rakesh Ranjan Sahay, Joint General Manager (ATM) and then Chief Executive Officer of CHIAL, and Amrit Garg, Assistant General Manager (Commercial) and then Head of Department (Commercial) at CHIAL.The chargesThe FIR, registered under Section 120-B IPC (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 386 IPC (extortion) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018), accuses the two officers of causing “mental, physical and financial harassment” to members of the Airport Taxi Union through extortion and blackmailing, and of showing undue favouritism towards a particular licensee — M/s Nanuan’s.The alleged offences date back to 2021 and continued thereafter. The case has been entrusted to Prakash Chand, DSP, CBI, ACB, Chandigarh, for investigation.Who complained, and howThe formal CBI complaint was lodged by Maya Lavania, Executive Director (Administration), Airports Authority of India (AAI), Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi — acting on behalf of the apex aviation body after an exhaustive internal process.The chain of events began on April 26, 2024, when AAI’s Corporate Headquarters in New Delhi received a written complaint — along with a pen drive containing audio clips — from the Airport Taxi Union, alleging systemic harassment, extortion, and favouritism by airport officials.AAI’s Vigilance Department conducted a preliminary investigation, examining documents, file notings, e-mail correspondences from CHIAL, and the audio clips provided by the complainants. The internal probe found that “some of the allegations mentioned by the complainant and adduced with the audio clips are getting verified from the available records,” establishing a clear vigilance and criminal dimension to the case.However, AAI’s Vigilance Directorate concluded it lacked the forensic capability to identify the voices in the audio recordings and to investigate the full money trail — necessitating CBI intervention.The CVC pushThe Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) stepped in decisively. Vide Office Memorandum No. 2024/TCA/AAI/VIG_CASE/14-51420 dated January 30, 2025, the CVC directed that the case be handed over to the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Division, noting that it “involves various allegations of bribery, corruption and favouritism towards a particular licensee” and requires forensic analysis of audio clips and investigation of the money trail to identify the accused.Following the CVC directive and with the approval of AAI Chairman, the case (Reference No. C-122/2024) was formally handed over to the CBI on February 21, 2025, with all relevant documents, the pen drive with audio clips, investigation reports, and exhibits.The accused: Who are theyRakesh Ranjan Sahay served as the then CEO of CHIAL — the highest executive position at the airport. As Joint General Manager (ATM), he was responsible for overall airport operations, administration, and commercial oversight.Amrit Garg served as AGM (Commercial) and Head of Department (Commercial) at CHIAL — in charge of all commercial licensing, vendor contracts, and revenue operations at the airport, including taxi and ground transportation concessions.Their positions made them the two most powerful officials in day-to-day airport management — directly overseeing the commercial relationships at the heart of the allegations.What is CHIALChandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) is a joint venture company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, to develop, operate, and maintain the international airport at Mohali, Punjab. AAI holds 51 per cent equity, while the governments of Punjab (through GMADA) and Haryana (through HSVP) hold 24.5 per cent each.PM Modi inaugurated airportThe airport’s state-of-the-art terminal, spread over 53,000 square metres with a capacity to handle 1,600 passengers at a time, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 11, 2015, and commenced regular operations on October 19, 2015. Built at a cost of ₹939 crore, it was officially renamed Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh, on September 28, 2022.The airport serves as the primary aviation gateway for the Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula Tricity region and connects Punjab and Haryana with domestic and international destinations. Round-the-clock operations make it a critical piece of regional infrastructure.Why it mattersThe airport was conceived and built as a prestige infrastructure project — inaugurated by the Prime Minister himself — to catalyse economic growth in the Tricity region. Allegations that its top management ran an extortion racket targeting the taxi union and favoured a private licensee strike at the integrity of a publicly-funded, AAI-managed institution.The case also sets a significant precedent: it is one of the rare instances where a taxi union’s grievance against entrenched airport management has resulted in a full CBI FIR against the CEO and a Head of Department.What nextThe case is now under active investigation by DSP Prakash Chand of CBI’s ACB, Chandigarh. The CBI is expected to conduct forensic analysis of the audio clips to establish the identity of the voices, trace the alleged money trail, and examine the commercial records and e-mail correspondences from CHIAL. Arrests, searches, and further custodial questioning of the accused remain possibilities as the investigation progresses.