Trainee IPS officer Rahul Bansal has been charged with seeking and receiving ₹1 crore to settle a cyber fraud case, bringing renewed attention to his earlier remarks about corruption during a mock civil services interview.
The complaint, filed before a special CBI court in Delhi, also names Assistant Sub-Inspector Praveen Kumar Rathore and constable Anshul Sharma. The court has sought an Action Taken Report from the Chhattisgarh Director General of Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The complainant has also submitted digital evidence, including WhatsApp conversations and call recordings, in support of the allegations.
According to the complaint, the ₹1 crore was not paid in one transaction. It was routed through hawala channels in two instalments of ₹50 lakh each in May 2026.
IPS trainee Rahul Bansal, who gave emotional gyaan about corruption in his civil services mock interview, now charged with accepting ₹1 crore bribe in cyberfraud case. https://t.co/CLcOcgUIiT
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 13, 2026
The allegations surfaced in connection with a cyber fraud case during Bansal’s posting as City Superintendent of Police in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district. Before joining the IPS, Bansal had worked as an Income Tax inspector. He belongs to the 2022 batch of the Chhattisgarh cadre.
The allegations are yet to be established, and the court’s direction for an Action Taken Report does not amount to a finding of guilt against Bansal or the other accused.
Old video on ₹500 bribe resurfaces
Amid the allegations, an old video of Bansal from his civil services preparation days has resurfaced on social media. In the video, he appears before a mock interview panel and discusses corruption, administrative inefficiency, and the need for police reforms.
While discussing corruption, Bansal recalls an incident involving his brother, who was studying at IIT Kanpur and was preparing to travel to the United States for a paper presentation. According to Bansal, his brother urgently needed a birth certificate for his visa application.
Bansal said a panchayat official demanded ₹500 to issue the certificate quickly. Recalling the incident, he told the interview panel, “I felt very bad paying the bribe of Rs 500.”
This is a mock interview of Rahul Bansal, IPS trainee. Look at how he was concerned about corruption in the bureaucracy, how he himself had been a victim of it, and how he expressed anguish at it.
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) August 12, 2026
He is now under scanner for allegedly demanding and receiving ₹1 crore to settle… pic.twitter.com/H7LIGYK3kS
He also argued that individual cases of corruption should not be used to blame the entire system. “There are some corrupt and inefficient people. But you can’t blame the whole system,” Bansal said in the old video.
He went on to speak about the need for reforms in policing and public administration, presenting corruption as a problem that required systemic improvements.
For now, the court has sought a report from the authorities on the complaint, while the old video has added another layer to the controversy surrounding the trainee IPS officer.
