The CBI court, Chandigarh, has granted three days’ police remand for accused Raghav Goyal and Vikas alias Vicky Goyal, who were arrested on allegations of demanding and accepting an illegal gratification of Rs 20 lakh on behalf of officials posted in Punjab Vigilance Bureau. The court has sent another accused, Ankit Wadhwa, to judicial custody.Meanwhile, the CBI court has also issued a non-bailable warrant against OP Rana, Reader to the Director General (DG), Vigilance, on an application moved by the central investigating agency.The three accused were arrested on May 11 in a case registered by CBI on the basis of a complaint filed by a Punjab State Tax Officer.The complainant alleged that accused Vikas alias Vicky Goyal and his son Raghav Goyal demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 20 lakh for securing closure of a complaint pending against him in the office of the DG, Vigilance, Punjab. It was further alleged that both accused were acting as intermediaries for senior Vigilance officials, including the Reader to the DG, Vigilance, Punjab, and were using their influence to assure the complainant that his matter could be settled. OP Rana, Reader to the DG, Vigilance, allegedly assured him of closure of the complaint once the illegal gratification was paid.While seeking three-day remand for Raghav Goyal and Vikas Goyal alias Vicky Goyal, CBI Public Prosecutor Narender Singh said custodial interrogation of the accused was required: to unearth the larger criminal conspiracy and ascertain the complete nexus between private middlemen and public servants involved in the offence; to identify the ultimate beneficiaries and trace the complete money trail relating to the illegal gratification; to ascertain the role of other public servants and private persons who may have participated in the conspiracy; to apprehend absconding accused OP Rana and ascertain his present whereabouts and role in the offence; to recover further incriminating digital and documentary evidence, including mobile devices, chats, financial records, and electronic data relevant to the investigation; to obtain specimen voice samples of the accused for comparison with incriminating audio recordings collected during verification and trap proceedings; and to confront the accused with each other and with documentary as well as digital evidence already collected.The public prosecutor said the investigation in the present case is at a nascent and highly sensitive stage. One of the principal accused, OP Rana, is absconding and efforts are being made to apprehend him. However, defence counsel opposed the remand.After hearing arguments, the court granted three days’ remand for both accused, Raghav Goyal and Vikas alias Vicky Goyal.