NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four accused including a General Manager and a Manager (Accounts) of Food Corporation of India, Odisha Region, Bhubaneswar, a Proprietor of a private company & a middleman in a case of demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 1 lakh for extending favour to the firm of the Proprietor in securing a tender relating to the transportation of rice grain.
CBI registered a case on 28.06.2024Â against five accused including a General Manager & a Manager (Accounts), both of Food Corporation of India, Odisha Region, Bhubaneswar; two middlemen; a Kolkata-based Proprietor of a private company and unknown others.
It was alleged that the accused FCI General Manager, in connivance with middlemen, said Manager (Accounts) of FCI and the accused Proprietor of the private firm were indulging in corrupt activities causing wrongful gain to themselves and wrongful loss to the government exchequer, in the matters related to processing the tender for transportation of rice grain.
It was also alleged that in connection with the tender for ‘Transportation of Rice Grain’, said GM had aided and favoured the accused Proprietor of a firm who had participated in the tender in the name of a firm, which was declared L-1. An accused middleman contacted and informed the GM, FCI that said Proprietor would like to offer him a bribe for having facilitated her in the allotment of work order in tender. The accused GM asked him to inform the Proprietor to give Rs 5 lakh as a bribe instead of this favour rendered to her.
CBI laid a trap and the GM, FCI; said the Proprietor and other accused middlemen, were caught upon delivery of a bribe amount of Rs. 1 lakh. All three accused were caught during the trap proceeding and the Manager (Accounts) of FCI were arrested.
All the arrested accused persons were produced before the Competent Court at Bhubaneswar and have been remanded to police custody till 6th July 2024.
CBI also conducted searches at Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar which led to the recovery of approx Rs 5 lakh cash, locker keys, mobiles, laptops and incriminating documents while further investigations are underway.
According to the CBI, two officials from Food Corporation of India, Odisha Region, Bhubaneswar, identified as Prem Singh Bhanot, General Manager and Sanjoy Dey, Manager (Accounts), have been arrested along with two others, Syed Hasnain Ahmed, a middleman from Kolkata, and Ms Malina Dey alias Soumi Bhattacharya, Proprietor of M/s SP Traders and Suppliers Pvt Ltd.
However, Swapan Kumar Ghoshal, another accused middleman from Kolkata is yet to be arrested.
