CBI arrests TRAI officer for demanding bribe from Himachal cable operators

The complaint was filed on behalf of five other cable operators, alleging that the accused officer was demanding bribe for favouring them in assessing their regulatory documents and withholding recommendations to cancel their licenses, it said.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters in New Delhi.  (File photo | Express)

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Narender Singh Rawat, a senior research officer from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a cable operator based in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district, officials said on Friday.

The officials said that the agency registered an FIR on January 1 on the complaint of the cable operator, who alleged that accused TRAI officer Rawat was demanding Rs 1 lakh bribe.

In a statement issued on Friday, the CBI said, “The complainant is a licence holder of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for running cable services in Sirmaur district.”

The complaint was filed on behalf of five other cable operators, alleging that the accused officer was demanding bribe for favouring them in assessing their regulatory documents — the Quarterly Performance Monitoring Reports (Q-PMRs) — and withholding recommendations to cancel their licenses, it said.

As per the TRAI guidelines, cable operators must submit their Q-PMRs to the officer, who after assessment or perusal, accepts or recommends cancellation of their licenses if some discrepancies are found.

In the FIR, the CBI said the accused reportedly told the operators that he would take favourable actions regarding their Q-PMRs and warned that their licenses could be cancelled unless they paid the bribe.

“The accused officer has also threatened other cable operators for cancellation of licences and asked them to contact the complainant in this regard,” the FIR read.

Following the complaint, the CBI registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and verified the allegations, the officials said, adding that a trap was laid and the accused was arrested while accepting the bribe of Rs 1 lakh at his office in Naroji Nagar in New Delhi.

The CBI also raided the accused officer’s residential and official premises in Greater Noida and New Delhi, where incriminating documents were recovered and further investigation in the case is underway, the officials said.