New Delhi, July 30
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four accused including two public servants including a Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP) and a principal scientist, both of CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat in a Rs 8 lakh bribery case.
The probe agency had registered a case this month against 5 public servants including a Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP), CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a Principal Scientist, CID, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a Finance and Accounts Officer (F&AO), CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; then Controller of Finance and Accounts (CoFA) presently working as CoFA, CSIR-NIScPR (National Institute of Science, Communication and Policy Research), New Delhi and a Senior Principal Scientist, CID [Centre for Infectious Disease], CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; and two private persons including Director of a private company having registered office at New Delhi; and a Jorhat (Assam) resident - brother of the Director of said private company and unknown others under relevant Sections of PC Act and BNS.
As per the FIR, the accused public servants were involved in corrupt and illegal activities of obtaining undue advantage from different private companies in lieu of extending undue favour in the matter of purchase and award of contracts. The accused then Controller of Finance and Accounts (CoFA) had contacted CSIR Headquarters, New Delhi, and pursued for allocation of a fund of seven crores. for incurring expenditure by NEIST, Jorhat, Assam towards purchase of the equipment to be supplied by the company of its accused director.
To add, the accused Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP)-bribe receiver and accused Finance and Accounts Officer (F&AO), allegedly discussed regarding their share of bribe as a sum of Rs. 7 lakh and Rs. 2 lakh. It was further alleged that accused Senior Principal Scientist, allegedly, had also indicated for payment of his bribe share by said Director of private company with assurance in all such future work orders of CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat.
It was also alleged that accused Director informed his brother that he would be sending a sum of Rs. 9 lakh in the Bank Account of a consultancy firm and instructed him to withdraw a sum of Rs. 8 lakh in cash, out of which he was told to deliver a bribe amount of Rs. 7 lakh to accused Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP) and keep the remaining sum of Rs. 1 lakh with himself.
The CBI then laid a trap and caught accused Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP) and Principal Scientist, CID while having obtained undue advantage of Rs. 7 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh respectively from co-accused brother of the accused Director of Private Company for extending favour to his Company in the matter of award of contract and passing of Bill for supply of the Spectrophotometer and its associated software.
The bribe amounts were recovered from both the said accused public servants. They were arrested at Jorhat alongwith the person (brother of the said director of private company) who delivered bribe to the public servants.
The agency also conducted searches at 18 different places (office / residential / business premises) of the accused persons located in Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Delhi and seized incriminating documents.
