CBI books NBCC CMD in Pragati Maidan graft case
The CBI has booked NBCC chairman-cummanaging director (CMD) Anoop Kumar Mittal for alleged corruption in the ~2,150-crore redevelopment project of ITPO Complex at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, arrested a government official and another person in connection with the case, agency officials said on Saturday.
The CBI has booked NBCC chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) Anoop Kumar Mittal for alleged corruption in the ~2,150-crore re-development project of ITPO Complex at Pragati Maidan here, arrested a government official and another person in connection with the case, agency officials said on Saturday.
The CBI arrested government official Pradeep Kumar Mishra and Akashdeep Chauhan on Friday night and carried out searches in Ghaziabad, Delhi and Mumbai, sources in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said. Residential and official premises of Mittal were not searched, they added.
Mishra and Chauhan have been sent to four-day police custody by a special CBI court on Saturday.
The agency alleged in the FIR that a contract was awarded to a joint venture of Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Pvt. Ltd. and Shapoorji Pallonji Qatar WLL for ~2,149.93 crore by NBCC (India) Limited, and Mumbaibased Capacite Structures was trying to get the work from Shapoorji Pallonji on subcontract basis. Surprisingly, according to the CBI FIR, the deal for a sub-contract of ~2,149.93 crore was influenced by a government official who had demanded a Royal Enfield bike as illegal gratification to exert his influence on Mittal and get the deal swing in favour of Capacite Structures.
It is alleged Sanjay Kulkarni, managing director of Capacite Structures, approached a middleman having good contacts with public servants, Rishabh Agrawal, for bagging the subcontract. The FIR alleged Agrawal approached Pradeep Kumar Mishra, a public servant who is close to certain senior functionaries of NBCC Ltd.
Mishra assured Agrawal the sub-contract would go to Capacite Structures if he was given a new Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle which was agreed by Kulkarni, the FIR alleged.
Under the influence of Mishra, Mittal “strongly directed” the executive director of NBCC to settle the matter in favour of Capacite Structures, it alleged.
The CBI said that in furtherance of the conspiracy, a meeting was held on December 15, 2017, between Kulkarni, representative of Shapoorji Pallonji including Sanjay Kharkhanis and senior officials of NBCC including Gupta.
After the meeting, Mittal assured Kulkarni and Mishra about getting the work from Shapoorji Pallonji and that if Capacite Structures does not get work, he would “ensure that it would not be given to any one else”, the FIR alleged.
The agency arrested Mishra while he was allegedly receiving the promised bike as illegal gratification from Akashdeep Chouhan, a staff of Kulkarni, the sources said.
The agency has filed FIR against Mittal, Mishra, Kulkarni, Agrawal and Chouhan for criminal conspiracy and corruption.