CBI arrests Parliament job racket offender after 16-year manhunt
Synopsis
A man who promised a Parliament job for ₹50,000 in 2009, then vanished for over 16 years after being declared a proclaimed offender, has finally been caught by the CBI in Ludhiana. The arrest — backed by technical surveillance — closes one of the agency’s longer-running fugitive cases and comes on the same day a DGFT official was caught red-handed accepting a bribe in Panipat.
Key Takeaways
Jitendra Pathak was arrested by the CBI from Ludhiana, Punjab on 20 August , over 16 years after the original FIR.
Pathak allegedly impersonated a Lok Sabha Secretariat employee and took a bribe of ₹50,000 from a job aspirant in 2009 .
He was declared a proclaimed offender by the trial court on 28 September 2016 after failing to appear following the charge sheet filed in December 2009 .
The CBI used field verification and technical analysis to locate and apprehend Pathak.
In a separate case, an Assistant DGFT official in Panipat, Haryana was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹30,000 to process an EPCG authorisation file.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday, 20 August arrested Jitendra Pathak, a proclaimed offender wanted in a Parliament job fraud case dating back to 2009, from Ludhiana, Punjab. Pathak had allegedly impersonated a Lok Sabha Secretariat employee and accepted a bribe of ₹50,000 from a youth seeking employment in Parliament — and had evaded law enforcement for over 16 years.
Background of the Case
The CBI registered the case on 13 July 2009 against Pathak and others for cheating a private individual by falsely promising a Parliament job in exchange for ₹50,000. Following completion of the investigation, a charge sheet was filed in December 2009, naming Pathak and at least one other accused.
However, Pathak never appeared before the trial court after the charge sheet was filed. Despite what the CBI described as “persistent and sustained efforts” to trace him, he remained untraceable for years. The trial court formally declared him a proclaimed offender on 28 September 2016 — nearly seven years after the original FIR.
How the CBI Tracked Him Down
Field verification inputs eventually revealed that Pathak had been hiding in Ludhiana. The CBI conducted what it described as a “meticulous operation, duly supported by technical analysis,” leading to his successful apprehension on Wednesday. The arrest closes a prolonged fugitive phase that spanned three terms of the Lok Sabha and two decades of legal proceedings.
Separate Bribery Arrest in Panipat
In an unrelated case on the same day, the CBI arrested an Assistant Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) posted at the Office of Joint DGFT in Panipat, Haryana. The official allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹30,000 from a complainant to clear a deficiency and process an Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) authorisation file on behalf of the complainant’s client.
The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused public servant in the act of demanding and accepting the bribe of ₹30,000, according to the agency’s statement.
What Happens Next
Pathak is expected to be produced before the trial court, which will resume proceedings that were stalled by his prolonged absence. The Panipat DGFT official faces prosecution under anti-corruption statutes. Both cases underscore the CBI’s ongoing focus on public-servant accountability and long-pending fugitive recoveries.
Point of View
000 fraud — and more for what it reveals about systemic gaps in fugitive tracking. A proclaimed offender in a CBI case managed to evade a central agency for over 16 years, raising questions about how many similar cases remain dormant in Indian courts. The simultaneous DGFT arrest in Panipat, though unrelated, reinforces a pattern: mid-level public servants remain a persistent weak link in India’s anti-corruption architecture, where demand-side bribery at procedural choke-points — licences, authorisations, file clearances — continues largely unchecked between high-profile crackdowns.
NationPress
20 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jitendra Pathak and why was he arrested?
Jitendra Pathak is an accused in a 2009 Parliament job fraud case in which he allegedly impersonated a Lok Sabha Secretariat employee and accepted a bribe of ₹50,000 from a youth seeking employment in Parliament. He was arrested by the CBI from Ludhiana on 20 August after evading authorities for over 16 years.
When was Jitendra Pathak declared a proclaimed offender?
The trial court declared Pathak a proclaimed offender on 28 September 2016, after he repeatedly failed to appear before the court following the filing of the charge sheet in December 2009. He remained untraceable for nearly a decade after that declaration.
What is the EPCG bribery case in Panipat?
On the same day as the Pathak arrest, the CBI arrested an Assistant DGFT official in Panipat, Haryana, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹30,000 to clear a deficiency and process an Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) authorisation file. The accused was caught in a CBI trap.
What happens to Jitendra Pathak now?
Pathak is expected to be produced before the trial court that had declared him a proclaimed offender. Legal proceedings in the original 2009 cheating and impersonation case, which were stalled by his absence, are now set to resume.
How did the CBI locate Pathak after so many years?
According to the CBI, field verification inputs revealed that Pathak was hiding in Ludhiana, Punjab. The agency then conducted a targeted operation backed by technical analysis to successfully apprehend him.
