The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested six individuals, including two public servants, over bribery charges in Madhya Pradesh. The case pertains to the alleged acceptance of a bribe to the tune of Rs 20 lakh, said to have been received by the two officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
A cash recovery of approximately Rs 1.10 crore, including the bribe money, has been made by the CBI so far.
The allegations stand that NHAI officials accepted the amount for clearing pending matters including processing of pending bills and issuance of completion certificates in lieu of a bribe for the project Outer Ring Road.
Both accused government officials are positioned at higher ranks at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). One of the accused is the general manager of the project implementation unit in Nagpur, identified as Arvind Kale, while the other accused is the deputy general manager of NHAI, Brijesh Kumar Sahu, in MP’s Harda. Besides them, two directors and two employees of the accused Bhopal-based private company face charges, namely Anil Bansal and Kunal Bansal.
CBI registered a case against the four public servants of NHAI, the private company, and its employees on allegations that they had been delivering bribes to NHAI officers through their employees in exchange for the issuance of completion certificates, processing of bills, progression of awarded works, etc., in road projects awarded by the National Highways Authority of India.
It was also alleged that said private company employees delivered bribes to public servants in Nagpur and in different locations in Madhya Pradesh. Further, it was alleged that a bribe of Rs 25 lakh was likely to be delivered to said general manager (GM) and the deputy GM in Nagpur.
The arrests were made following a trap laid by the CBI sleuths after the delivery of an alleged bribe of Rs 20 lakh to both NHAI officials by an employee of the said private company, Krishna.
A detailed probe is underway and searches are being conducted at different offices and residences of the accused. Several incriminating documents and digital devices have been recovered during the CBI-led searches.