CBI arrests CPWD engineer, 4 associates in ₹50 lakh bribe case

CBI arrests CPWD engineer, 4 associates in ₹50 lakh bribe case

New Delhi, The CBI has arrested a CPWD executive engineer, his relative and three officials of a Mumbai-based real estate group in an alleged ₹50 lakh bribery case for issuing a no-objection certificate related to a parcel of land in Mumbai, officials said Friday.

CBI arrests CPWD engineer, 4 associates in ₹50 lakh bribe case

The CBI arrested CPWD Executive Engineer Vikrant Verma, his relative Saurav Gupta, Vice President of a real estate group Arvind Semwal, manager Chetan Mahajan and Anil Deshmukh, a partner in the firm Renaissance, which is a partnership firm under Baya Group, officials said.

"It was alleged in the FIR that the accused Executive Engineer demanded undue advantage of ₹1 Crore, later negotiated to ₹70 Lakh, through his relative, for issuing NOC stating that CPWD had no claim over a parcel of land at Wadala, Mumbai, on which the real estate group intended to undertake a construction project," the CBI Spokesperson said in a statement.

The FIR alleged that Verma, a 2014-batch CES officer posted in Mumbai since April 2023, demanded a bribe from the company involved in the construction of private apartments which sought a CPWD NOC concerning a parcel of land at Antop Hill in Sion, Mumbai.

The NOC was allegedly intended to certify that the land was not CPWD property, allowing the company to proceed with a proposed construction project, it said.

The FIR alleged that Verma issued the letter without a dispatch number, which could subsequently be used to pressure the company to make the balance payment.

The letter was issued against payment of ₹50 Lakh, with the balance of ₹20 lakh to be paid after a week, the statement from the CBI spokesperson said.

"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," it said.

The spokesperson said the executive engineer was apprehended at Vashi, Navi Mumbai, where he was waiting to receive the bribe.

"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. All five accused persons have been arrested," it said.

The CBI said searches conducted at the premises of the accused and their associates in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune led to the recovery of cash of about Rs. 53.87 Lakh , documents relating to immovable properties and other documents.

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