Jamia professor who issued safety certificate to Chintels held for taking bribe

CBI officials said they laid a trap on Wednesday and caught Moin red-handed while accepting ₹1 lakh from two persons, Prakhar Pawarof Vyom, an architecture firm in Okhla Phase-3, and Abid Khan, an employee of the firm

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested a professor of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) who, in connivance with private builders, architects and middlemen, allegedly issued structural stability certificates for projects in exchange for bribes.

According to Gurugram police, two FIRs have been registered in the Chintels Paradiso case so far. (HT photo)

CBI officials said the professor, identified as Mohammad Khalid Moin, from the department of civil engineering at JMI, had also issued the structural stability certificate for Gurugram’s Chintels Paradiso housing complex, where multiple ceilings of a building caved in on February 10, killing two women.

To be sure, Moin was not specifically arrested for the Chintels Paradiso collapse, but a separate bribery case filed by the central agency, officials said.

CBI officials said they laid a trap on Wednesday and caught Moin red-handed while accepting ₹1 lakh from two persons, Prakhar Pawarof Vyom, an architecture firm in Okhla Phase-3, and Abid Khan, an employee of the firm.

A statement issued by CBI spokesperson RC Joshi said: “A case was registered based on allegations that the said professor, in conspiracy with the representatives of different private builders, architect, middleman etc, was... issuing structural stability certificates for projects after taking bribes.”

According to Gurugram police, two FIRs have been registered in the Chintels Paradiso case so far. In one of the FIRs registered by district town planner RS Bhath, it was alleged that the developers,the structural engineer and the contractors were responsible for the incident.

The Supreme Court, earlier this month, issued notices to the Haryana government, the department of town and country planning (DTCP), real estate firm Chintels India and others on a petition filed by a Class 11 student whose mother was killed in the incident.