Defence Ministry Suspends MIL Official Held In Rs 500 Cr Bribery Case
The CBI arrested Kumar, Kansal and Kumar's brother B. Harshavardhan on October 13 for allegedly demanding and accepting bribes in exchange for official favours.
New Delhi:The defence ministry has suspended Munitions India Limited (MIL) executive director (operations) Anil Kumar following his arrest by the CBI in a bribery case linked to a Rs 500-crore ammunition deal with private defence manufacturer SMPP Limited.
The ministry is also considering suspending or banning SMPP from securing government defence contracts under procurement rules following the arrest of its chief executive officer, Ashish Kansal.
The CBI arrested Kumar, Kansal and Kumar's brother B. Harshavardhan on October 13 for allegedly demanding and accepting bribes in exchange for official favours.
The agency had registered a case on October 12 against Kumar, alleging that he had colluded with private contractors and vendors to receive illegal payments.
"The CBI registered the instant case on 12.10.2026 against the said accused public servant on allegations that while posted at Munitions India Limited (MIL), Pune as Executive Director, the accused, in connivance with certain private contractors/vendors, indulged in demand and acceptance of illegal gratification in exchange for extending official favours," the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
During searches at Kumar's premises in Pune, the CBI recovered Rs 1.73 crore in cash. Further searches at premises in Mysuru, Bengaluru and Delhi yielded another Rs 50 lakh and incriminating documents, taking the total cash seizure to Rs 2.23 crore.
The CBI is also investigating allegations that sensitive defence-related information was disclosed in exchange for illegal payments.
The investigation is continuing.