A special CBI court has dismissed the anticipatory bail application of OP Rana, Reader to the Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab Vigilance Bureau. Simultaneously, the court rejected a regular bail plea filed by co-accused Vikas Goyal, who sought a one-month interim release on medical grounds.The CBI registered the FIR following a complaint by Amit Kumar, a State Tax Officer in Malout. Kumar, who is currently facing a disproportionate assets (DA) case within the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, alleged that intermediaries facilitated a meeting with OP Rana on April 29, 2026.According to the CBI Rana allegedly demanded Rs 20 lakh for “Sahab” (a senior official) and a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold-7 mobile phone for himself to settle the DA case.On May 11, the CBI arrested three individuals — Raghav Goyal, Vikas (alias Vicky) Goyal and Ankit Wadhwa — during a trap operation.While the CBI recovered Rs 13 lakh and the mobile phone handset during the operation, Rana reportedly managed to escape from the scene.CBI Public Prosecutor Narender Singh strongly opposed the bail pleas, asserting that the accused acted as influential intermediaries for high-ranking Vigilance Bureau officials. He argued that their release could jeopardise the investigation into the corruption network.In contrast, defence counsel for OP Rana argued that the Reader was falsely implicated and that the CBI’s narrative was entirely fabricated. The defence maintained that Rana never demanded a bribe and given his administrative rank, lacked the authority to influence or “decide” any Vigilance Bureau cases.After hearing both sides, the CBI court found no merit in the requests for leniency. The court dismissed Rana’s plea for protection from arrest and rejected Vikas Goyal’s medical-based interim bail application, citing the gravity of the allegations.