The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday said it had arrested three persons, two private middlemen and one associate, in a Rs 20 lakh bribery case involving alleged demand and acceptance of illegal gratification on behalf of officials posted in the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.A CBI spokesperson said the case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a Punjab State Tax Officer, who alleged that Vikas, alias Vicky Goyal, and his son and BJP youth morcha leader Raghav Goyal demanded Rs 20 lakh to secure closure of a complaint pending against him in the office of the Director General, Vigilance, Punjab.The two were allegedly acting as intermediaries for senior Vigilance officials, including OP Rana, reader to the DG Vigilance, who allegedly assured the complainant that his matter would be settled once the bribe was paid. During verification, the allegations regarding demand of bribe were prima facie substantiated. According to the CBI, the accused subsequently negotiated the bribe amount down from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 13 lakh, along with a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 mobile phone to be given to Rana.During a trap operation conducted on May 11 in Chandigarh, accused Ankit Wadhwa, an associate of the Goyals, was apprehended while allegedly accepting Rs 13 lakh in cash and the mobile phone from the complainant on behalf of the accused persons. Both the cash and the mobile phone were recovered on the spot.However, Raghav Goyal, Vikas and Rana fled after being alerted by gunmen present near the spot for surveillance. After a chase, Raghav, Vikas and two gunmen were apprehended by the CBI team near Ambala on the Punjab-Haryana border. Rana remains absconding. Efforts are underway to arrest him.A CBI court later granted the probe agency three-day custody of Raghav and Vikas, while Wadhwa was send to judicial custody. The court also issued non-bailable warrants against Rana.