Invest UP CEO suspended for allegedly seeking bribe through middleman
CM Yogi Adityanath suspended IAS officer Abhishek Prakash for allegedly seeking a bribe for a solar project, following police arrest of middleman Nikant Jain.
: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday cracked the whip on senior IAS officer and Invest UP CEO Abhishek Prakash by suspending him for allegedly seeking bribe through a middleman for approving a solar power plant project and ordered action against him.
The Lucknow police arrested one Nikant Jain, who was supposedly demanding 5% of total cost of the project as commission for approving the project, allegedly at the behest of Prakash.
The action comes within hours of the chief minister’s announcement at a public meeting in Gonda that “no one will be spared if found guilty in executing a project.”
An FIR was lodged at the Gomti Nagar police station against Nikant Jain under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Jain, a resident of Viram Khand, Gomti Nagar in Lucknow, belonges to Meerut.
The state government took the action on the complaint lodged by the company, SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited.
According to the state government, the project was again sent for re-evaluation by the Invest UP CEO after approval allegedly without any valid reason.
“Malicious intent of Invest UP CEO Abhikesh Prakash, vested interest and unfair financial gain could be the reason for this,” said the government in a statement.
“In the case, prima facie Abhishek Prakash has been found responsible. This is a violation of the All India Services (conduct) rules -1968 section -3,” the government statement added.
“Abhishek Prakash is being suspended with immediate effect. Further disciplinary action will be taken against him as per IAS ( RR-2006),” the state government statement added.
The company had submitted both online and offline applications for approval of the project at the office of Invest UP at Picup Bhavan, Gomti Nagar.
Acting on the company’s application, a meeting was convened by Abhishek Prakash on March 12, 2025, to vet the project and issue ‘letter of comfort’ to the company.
In this meeting, the project was approved and the committee recommended the company’s application to the high-level expert committee for further recommendation.
Despite approval of the project by the committee, the Invest UP CEO again sent the company’s application before the evaluation committee for re-evaluation allegedly without any valid reason, according to a probe by the government on the complaint by the company.
An FIR was lodged at the Gomti Nagar police station against Nikant Jain, who was acting allegedly at the behest of Invest UP CEO Abhishek Prakash.
Jain was allegedly playing the role of a facilitator in executing the project in lieu of an alleged kickback.
The FIR was lodged on the complaint of Biswajit Datt, employee of the company, SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited.
In the complaint, Datt pointed out that his company wanted to set up a plant in the state for manufacturing parts related to Solar plant.
For this project, the company submitted online and offline applications at the office of Invest UP in Picup Bhawan, Gomti Nagar. The project was vetted by a committee of the Invest UP and was approved.
According to the FIR, a senior official of the Invest UP asked Datt to contact one Nikant Jain and handed over his cell phone number. When Datt contacted Jain over phone, he allegedly demanded 5% of the total cost of the project as kickback.
When Datt refused, the project was again sent for re-evaluation allegedly by Invest UP CEO.
Jain allegedly told Datt that without his approval, the project will not get the nod.
