Chandigarh: A Judicial Magistrate on May 11 escaped from Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody shortly after he was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs nine lakh from a litigant on behalf of a senior judicial officer, the agency sources said.

Judicial Magistrate First Class S S Bhardwaj was arrested on May 10 from his residence and the money in Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes was seized from his house.

However, Bhardwaj gave a slip to the agency sleuths in the wee hours on the pretext of going to the toilet, the sources said.

A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered by CBI against Bhardwaj under section 224 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (running away from custody), police said.

The CBI also searched the residence of District and Sessions Judge, Jalandhar, R M Gupta, on whose behalf Bhardwaj is alleged to have received the money, the sources said.

Some documents relating to property and other deals were seized from the residences of both Bhardwaj and Gupta.

PTI