The complaint alleges that the former DGCA official extended undue favours to select flying training organisations, causing loss and disadvantage to similarly placed operators. (Representative Image)The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked a former Director of Flying Training at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for alleged corruption, regulatory favouritism and criminal conspiracy in granting approvals to flying training organisations.The FIR, registered by CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch last week, named Captain Anil Gill, former Director of Flying Training, four aviation-linked companies, along with unknown public servants and private persons.The FIR is based on a complaint following a preliminary inquiry in April last year. The preliminary inquiry was initiated on the basis of a complaint filed by Captain J S Dhillon, Managing Director of Global Avianautics Ltd, which was received through the DGCA’s vigilance wing.According to the FIR, Gill, while serving as Director of Flying Training at DGCA, allegedly abused his official position in collusion with the directors and shareholders of certain private aviation entities.The complaint alleges that he extended undue favours to select flying training organisations, causing loss and disadvantage to similarly placed operators, including Global Avianautics Ltd.The FIR also alleges that Gill facilitated the purchase of training aircraft at nominal prices through companies controlled by his relatives and later arranged for the aircraft to be leased to favoured flying training organisations at high rates. The agency has alleged that this generated illicit pecuniary advantage and amounted to gross official misconduct.The CBI has alleged that one of the alleged companies was controlled by Gill’s immediate and extended family members. The FIR states that the company was incorporated in 2016 with directors including his mother and maternal aunt, while his cousin and sister-in-law joined later. It also claims that Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings for the company contained Gill’s personal email address, which the agency says indicated his administrative control over the firm.Story continues below this adAlso Read | 8 ‘CBI officials’ try to ‘raid’ Delhi businessman’s home. They run into his wifeTwo other entities were allegedly incorporated with Gill’s brother-in-law and other relatives as directors for aircraft-related acquisitions, financing arrangements and mortgages.The alleged financial transactions centre on the purchase and leasing of two Cessna aircraft by one of the alleged companies. The FIR states that the company acquired Cessna aircraft VT-EUC, a 1975 model, in 2020 for Rs 10 lakh, and VT-AAY, a 1981 model, in 2021 for Rs 37.5 lakh.The agency has alleged that VT-AAY was acquired at a price significantly below its estimated market valuation of Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore, despite being in operational condition with only 123 engine hours. Both aircraft were allegedly leased to another alleged company under approvals granted by Gill in his official capacity.According to the FIR, between 2021 and October 2023, the firm allegedly generated more than Rs 2.16 crore in lease rentals from another such firm alone, which the CBI has described as disproportionately high returns on minimal capital investment.Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram