CBI arrests two school principals in separate bribery cases in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha

CBI arrests two school principals in separate bribery cases in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, including one accused of demanding ₹3 lakh to release pending bills.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested the principals of a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Madhya Pradesh and an Eklavya school in Odisha in two separate bribery cases, the agency said on Thursday.

BI arrests principals of Kendriya Vidyalaya in Madhya Pradesh and Eklavya school in Odisha in separate bribery cases involving ₹3 lakh and ₹20,000.

In the first case, Shraddha Pathak, principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya-I at Ordnance Factory, Itarsi (Madhya Pradesh), and a middleman, Kirat Singh Sarathe, were arrested by the agency on Wednesday while she was collecting a bribe of ₹3 lakh.

It is alleged that a Bhopal-based businessman’s firms had received work orders through GeM (Government e-Marketplace) in September 2026 for the renovation of three rooms of PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya, Itarsi, which had been substantially completed, and bills of approximately ₹8 lakh were to be paid.

Shraddha Pathak, the CBI alleged, “being the competent authority for release of payment of pending bills demanded bribe of ₹3 Lakh to release the amount of pending bills.”

“The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused principal and middle man while accepting an undue advantage of ₹3 Lakh. Searches were conducted at the residential and office premises of the accused in Itarsi and Agra and property related documents have been seized,” the CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

“After negotiation, the accused agreed to accept ₹12,000 from the complainant. The CBI laid a trap on Wednesday and caught the accused Principal red-handed while accepting the bribe of ₹12,000 from the complainant. The aforesaid principal has been apprehended,” CBI spokesperson said in a separate statement on Thursday.