CBI Swoops on Power Grid Corruption: Senior Executive Nabbed

CBI arrests Senior General Manager of Power Grid Corporation for allegedly accepting a Rs 2.4 lakh bribe in Sikar. Investigation launched against six, including Power Grid's senior manager and KEC's DGM, for extending undue favors linked to PSU contracts. Searches recover incriminating documents.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken into custody a Senior General Manager from Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, following allegations of accepting a bribe amounting to Rs 2.4 lakh in Sikar, Rajasthan. The bribery was allegedly intended to secure undue advantages in the processing and approval of bills related to contracts awarded to a private firm.

Additionally, the Deputy General Manager of KEC International Limited, Suman Singh, has also been apprehended. On March 19, the CBI registered a case involving six individuals, including the senior General Manager from Power Grid Corporation stationed in Ajmer, a private entity based in Mumbai, and four of its representatives. The other suspects, identified as Ashtosh Kumar, Atul Agarwal, and Jabraj Singh, have not yet been detained.

The Power Grid official is accused of collaborating with private company representatives to facilitate and extend undue favors for processing and clearing bills related to the Power Grid contracts granted to the private entity in exchange for illicit payments. This arrangement was allegedly solidified during a scheduled meeting on March 19, where the agreed bribe was handed over.

The CBI caught the Power Grid Senior General Manager red-handed at the transaction site in Sikar, supplementing the arrest with searches at residences and offices in Sikar, Jaipur, and Mohali. These operations led to the confiscation of several incriminating documents and electronic devices. The investigation remains ongoing.

(With inputs from agencies.)