Chandigarh, May 13 -- A special CBI court here on Tuesday issued non-bailable warrant against inspector OP Rana, Punjab vigilance bureau chief SS Chauhan's reader, in connection with a Rs.20-lakh bribery case. The court also sent the two alleged middlemen, arrested by the federal probe agency along with their associate in a late-night raid at the state anti-corruption watchdog's headquarters in Mohali's Sector 68 and a luxury hotel in Chandigarh on Monday, to three-day CBI remand. Vikas Goyal, his son Raghav Goyal have been sent to three-day remand, while the third accused Ankit Wadhwa was remanded in judicial custody, said a CBI official. "The court also issued a non-bailable warrant against Rana, who is on the run," he added. The CBI took the action after registering an FIR on a complaint of a Punjab state tax officer who had accused Vikas and Raghav of demanding illegal gratification of Rs 20 Lakh for securing the closure of a complaint against him in the office of DG (vigilance), Punjab. According to CBI, inspector Rana has been identified as the central figure in the case as he allegedly leveraged his proximity to the bureau's senior officials. "Further, it was alleged that both the accused were acting as intermediaries for vigilance officials, including Rana, and were using their influence to assure the complainant that his matter could be settled. Rana assured the Malout resident that the complaint against him would be closed once illegal gratification is paid," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement. According to the statement, during negotiations, the accused reduced the demand from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 13 lakh along with one Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 mobile phone for Rana. After getting confirmation about the bribe exchange, a CBI team raided a Chandigarh hotel, where an associate of the accused, Ankit Wadhwa, was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs 13 lakh and a mobile phone on their behalf, the spokesperson said. "The bribe amount and mobile phone were recovered during the trap proceedings," the statement read. Raghav, Vikas and Rana ran away after being alerted by their gunmen stationed there to keep a watch. The CBI team began a hot pursuit and after a dramatic chase nabbed Raghav, Vikas and apprehended their two gunmen near Ambala on the Punjab-Haryana border, the spokesperson said. "Rana is still absconding and efforts are being made to arrest him," the spokesperson added. "The wider conspiracy, including possible illegal gratification nexus and the role of other persons, is under investigation. The accused private persons were given police gunmen officially. The role and attachment of these gunmen carrying AK-47 rifles with the private accused persons is also being examined," the spokesperson said. The state vigilance bureau, on its part, said it will cooperate fully with the central agency if the name of anyone from the bureau comes up. "If the name of anyone from the bureau arises, we will cooperate fully with the CBI and let the law take its course," the spokesperson said. Replying to a question about his reader, VB chief Chauhan said: "I have no idea. How do I know? You have to ask the investigation agency. We will cooperate fully with the investigative agency." Chauhan, the 1994-batch IPS officer and one of the contenders for the post of director general of police, on Tuesday attended the Mohali office on Tuesday. Earlier, the three accused were produced in a special CBI court around 4 pm. A counsel from the legal aid had to be appointed for the trio owing to the ongoing lawyers' strike at the district courts complex. The CBI lawyer said through WhatsApp chats it had been established that the two were running a nexus with Rana. "To identify the extent of the nexus and who all are involved, the interrogation of the accused was necessary," he said. The defence counsel argued that no arrest warrant or FIR has been prepared, the CBI maintained that all documents along with the grounds for arrest have been provided....