CBI to demand witness accounts in probe against bureaucrat, firm

NEW DELHI: The CBI may seek witness testimonies from senior officials of a software supplier to strengthen its corruption probe against a Delhi-based private firm

NEW DELHI: The CBI may seek witness testimonies from senior officials of a software supplier to strengthen its corruption probe against a Delhi-based private firm and former principal secretary to Delhi CM, Rajendra Kumar.

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A senior official from the accused firm, who is under the CBI scanner, allegedly persuaded the supplier to pay around Rs 69 lakh for bagging a state contract, according to the CBI’s case papers.

The alleged payment was made via a “camouflaged MOU/ contract” between the accused firm and the supplier, to facilitate the transaction.

The payment was allegedly made from the commission received for supplying software worth around Rs 10 crore to a state department, according to the probe’s findings. The accused people and firms in the case have denied the allegations.

“We are examining allegations that the accused firm’s senior official told the software provider’s partners that it was his active intervention, owing to his connections with officials, which led to the contract’s award,” said a CBI source.

The agency on Saturday arrested former and current managing directors of the publicsector undertaking Intelligent Communication System India Limited, in its corruption probe. The two arrested officials were accused of manipulating tender guidelines to ensure that the Delhi-based firm bagged a lucrative state contract.

The agency recovered from an accused, a diary in which the entries allegedly indicated suspicious monetary transactions involving an FIR-named accused, claimed another CBI source. “The CBI is examining if the payments were indeed made as per certain diary entries and why,” he said.