CBI Arrests CPWD Engineer, Four Others In ₹50-Lakh Bribery Case
CBI has arrested a Central Public Works Department: Reports
NEW DELHI: The CBI has arrested a Central Public Works Department (CPWD) executive engineer, his relative and three officials associated with a Mumbai-based real estate group in an alleged ₹50-lakh bribery case involving the issuance of a no-objection certificate for a parcel of land in Mumbai.
Those arrested are CPWD executive engineer Vikrant Verma; his relative Saurav Gupta; Arvind Semwal, vice-president of the Baya Group of Companies; manager Chetan Mahajan; and Anil Deshmukh, a partner in Renaissance, a partnership firm under the Baya Group, officials said on Saturday.
According to the CBI, Verma allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹1 crore, which was later negotiated down to ₹70 lakh, through his relative for issuing an NOC stating that the CPWD had no claim over a parcel of land at Wadala in Mumbai, where the real estate group planned to undertake a construction project.
The FIR alleged that Verma, a 2014-batch Central Engineering Service officer posted in Mumbai since April 2023, demanded the bribe from the company, which was developing private apartments and had sought a CPWD NOC for land at Antop Hill in Sion.
The NOC was allegedly intended to certify that the land did not belong to the CPWD, enabling the company to proceed with its construction project.
The CBI alleged that Verma issued the letter without a dispatch number, which could later be used to pressure the company to pay the remaining amount.
According to the agency, the letter was issued after payment of ₹50 lakh, while the balance ₹20 lakh was to be paid a week later.
“The CBI laid a trap on October 1 and caught the relative of the accused public servant while he was carrying the bribe amount of ₹50 lakh, which he had accepted from the vice-president of the real estate group on behalf of the executive engineer,” a CBI spokesperson said.
Officials said Verma was apprehended at Vashi in Navi Mumbai, where he was allegedly waiting to receive the money.
A manager of the real estate group and a partner of the firm seeking the NOC, who were present during the transaction, were also arrested, taking the total number of arrests to five.
The CBI said searches at premises linked to the accused and their associates in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune led to the recovery of about ₹53.87 lakh in cash, apart from the alleged bribe amount of ₹50 lakh. Documents relating to immovable properties and other records were also seized.