Assam: Four arrested by CBI including two govt officials in bribery case

New Delhi [India], July 27 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four individuals, including two public servants, in connection with an Rs 8 lakh bribery case, according to an official statement on Saturday.
The First Information Report (FIR) alleges that the accused public servants were involved in corrupt and illegal activities, accepting undue advantages from various private parties and companies in exchange for extending undue favors in the procurement and awarding of contracts.
The CBI registered a case on July 26 against five public servants, including a Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP) at CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a Principal Scientist at CID, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a Finance and Accounts Officer (F&AO) at CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a former Controller of Finance and Accounts (CoFA) currently working as CoFA at CSIR-NIScPR (National Institute of Science, Communication and Policy Research), New Delhi; and a Senior Principal Scientist at CID [Centre for Infectious Disease], CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat.
The case also involves two individuals, including a 'Director' of a private company with a registered office in New Delhi and a resident of Jorhat, Assam.
It is further alleged that the former Controller of Finance and Accounts (CoFA) contacted CSIR Headquarters in New Delhi and pursued the allocation of approximately Rs 7 crores for NEIST, Jorhat, Assam, to purchase equipment to be supplied by the company of the accused Director.
The accused Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP) and Finance and Accounts Officer (F&AO) allegedly discussed their bribe share, amounting to Rs 7 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively. It is also alleged that the Senior Principal Scientist indicated his expectation for a bribe from the Director of the private company for future work orders at CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat.
The accused Director reportedly informed his brother that he would be sending Rs 9 lakh to the bank account of a consultancy firm and instructed him to withdraw Rs 8 lakh in cash, with Rs 7 lakh to be delivered as a bribe to the COSP and the remaining Rs 1 lakh to be kept by himself.
The CBI laid a trap and caught the COSP and Principal Scientist at NEIST, Jorhat, on July 24, while they were receiving undue advantages of Rs 7 lakh and Rs 1 lakh, respectively, from the brother of the accused Director of the private company in exchange for favoring the company in awarding contracts and passing bills for the supply of a spectrophotometer and its associated software.
The bribe amounts were recovered from the public servants, who were arrested in Jorhat along with the brother of the Director on July 26. The Director of the private company was arrested on Saturday (July 27) in Guwahati.
Searches were conducted at 18 different locations, including offices, residences, and business premises of the accused in Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi, resulting in the recovery of incriminating documents and articles.
All four arrested individuals are being produced before the competent court in Guwahati today. (ANI)