Correspondent
SHILLONG, JUL 6: Sleuths of the Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested the Project Director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Shillong along with two private individuals in connection with an alleged Rs. 12 lakh bribery case linked to the clearance of a contractor’s pending payment, an official said.
In a statement issued on Monday, the CBI registered the case on July 1 after receiving a complaint alleging that National Highways Authority of India Project Director Aanand Singh Chouhan demanded an undue advantage of Rs. 12 lakh to process an outstanding bill amounting to Rs. 13.38 crore.
Chouhan allegedly instructed the complainant to first pay Rs. 4 lakh as an advance and directed him to hand over the amount to a private individual in Assam’s Guwahati.
During the investigation, the CBI found that the intermediary subsequently asked the complainant to deliver the money to another person in the city.
Based on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and allegedly caught one of the private individuals red-handed while demanding and accepting the Rs. 4 lakh advance from the contractor.
Following the operation, the CBI arrested Chouhan along with the two private individuals, identified as Punit Agarwal and Manish Agarwal.
The agency also carried out searches at the premises of all three accused as part of the probe.
Investigation is on to ascertain the full extent of the alleged bribery conspiracy.