BHUBANESWAR: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four accused including a general manager and a manager (accounts) of Food Corporation of India (FCI), Odisha region, in connection with demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 1 lakh to extend favour to a firm by securing a tender for transportation of rice.
The accused are FCI regional general manager Prem Singh Bhanot, manager (accounts) Sanjoy Dey, proprietor of M/s SP Traders and Suppliers Pvt Ltd. Malina Dey and a middleman Syed Hasnain Ahmed. The CBI had registered a case against five persons including Swapan Kumar Ghoshal, another middleman from Kolkata, in this connection on June 28.
CBI sources said, the general manager in connivance with middlemen, manager (Accounts) and the private firm owner, indulged in corrupt activities causing wrongful gain and loss to the government exchequer, in processing tender for transportation of rice grain.
The GM had allegedly aided and favoured the accused proprietor who had participated in the tender in the name of a firm. In turn, he had allegedly sought Rs 5 lakh as bribe through the middlemen in lieu of the favour rendered to her.
The CBI laid a trap and arrested the accused at the time of transaction of Rs 1 lakh. They have been produced before the competent court in Bhubaneswar and have been remanded in police custody till July 6.
The CBI also conducted searches at Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar which led to recovery of around Rs 5 lakh cash, locker keys, mobiles, laptops and incriminating documents. Further investigation is in progress, agency officials said.