OP Rana, Reader to the Punjab DGP (Vigilance), on Monday filed an anticipatory bail plea in a CBI court in Chandigarh, claiming he was falsely implicated in a bribery case involving senior officers of the department.Rana has been absconding since the CBI busted the Rs 13-lakh bribery racket, with the court scheduling the hearing for May 21.The CBI had arrested three accused — Raghav Goyal, Vikas alias Vicky Goyal and Ankit Wadhwa — on May 11 in the case registered on the complaint of Amit Kumar, a State Tax Officer posted at Malout.According to the FIR, a disproportionate assets (DA) case against the complainant was pending with the Punjab Vigilance. The CBI alleged that the accused Vikas Goyal and Raghav Goyal facilitated a meeting between the complainant and OP Rana at Rana’s office in Chandigarh on April 29, during which Rana allegedly demanded Rs 20 lakh for “sahab” and a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold-7 mobile phone for himself.The CBI claimed that the two accused were acting as intermediaries for senior Vigilance officials, including the Reader to the DGP (Vigilance), Punjab, and used their influence to assure the complainant that the matter could be settled. The agency further alleged that Rana assured the complainant that the case would be closed once the illegal gratification was paid.The CBI stated that during the trap operation, while the other accused were arrested with Rs 13 lakh and the mobile phone, Rana managed to escape from the spot.In his anticipatory bail application, Rana claimed that he had been falsely implicated in the case and had never demanded any bribe from anyone. He alleged that the CBI had fabricated a one-sided story and pointed out that the complete FIR had not been uploaded by the agency.Rana further submitted that a non-bailable warrant had also been obtained against him on the basis of false allegations. He also argued that he was not in a position to decide any case registered by the Vigilance Department.The court has fixed May 21 for the CBI to file its reply in connection with Rana’s anticipatory bail plea.