COSP, principal scientist of CSIR-NEIST among four arrested by CBI in Rs 8 lakh bribery scam

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 27, 2024

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; and two private persons including a director of a private company and his brother, who delivered bribe to the arrested public servants in a Rs 8 lakh bribery case.

The investigation agency has already registered a case against seven accused – Praveer Mohan Verma, Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP), CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; Abhay Sakhare, Finance and Accounts Officer (F&AO), CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; Rama Shankar Sharma, then Controller of Finance and Accounts (CoFA) presently working as CoFA, CSIR-NIScPR (National Institute of Science, Communication and Policy Research), New Delhi; Jatin Kalita, senior principal scientist, CID [Centre For Infectious Disease], CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; Prasenjit Manna, principal scientist, CID, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; Kangkan Kashyap, director of KXK Technologies Pvt Ltd. having registered office at New Delhi and Angkan Borpujari, brother of Kangkan Kashyap.

The CBI registered a case on July 26 against five public servants including a COSP, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a principal scientist, CID, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a finance and accounts officer (F&AO), CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat;  a  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  Jorhat resident brother of the director of the private company and unknown others relevant sections of PC Act and BNS.

It has been alleged in the FIR that the accused public servants were involved in corrupt and illegal activities of obtaining undue advantage from different private parties/ companies instead of extending undue favour in the matter of purchase and award of contracts.

It has also been also alleged that the accused then Controller of Finance and Accounts (CoFA) had contacted CSIR Headquarters, New Delhi, and pursued for allocation of a fund of Rs 7 crore for incurring expenditure by NEIST towards the purchase of the equipment to be supplied by the company of its accused director.

Thereafter, the accused COSP-bribe receiver and the accused FAO, allegedly discussed regarding their share of the bribe as a sum of Rs 7 lakh and Rs 2 lakh. It was further alleged that the accused senior principal scientist, allegedly, had also indicated for payment of his bribe share by the director of private company with assurance in all such future work orders of CSIR-NEIST. 

It was also alleged that the accused director informed his brother that he would be sending a sum of Rs 9 lakh in the bank account of 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 COSP and keep the remaining sum of Rs 1 lakh with himself.

A CBI team laid a trap and caught accused COSP and principal scientist, CID, both of NEIST, at Jorhat on July 26 while having obtained undue advantage of Rs 7 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively from co-accused brother of the accused director of a 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 accused public servants. They were arrested at Jorhat along with the person (brother of the director of a private company) who delivered bribes to the public servants. The accused director of the private company was arrested from Guwahati on Saturday.

Searches at 18 different places (office / residential / business premises) of the accused persons located in Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, and Delhi have been conducted and incriminating documents/articles were recovered.

All the four arrested accused persons are being produced before the CBI court in Guwahati on Saturday.