Chennai, March 23 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three individuals, including the Chief Engineer and Executive Engineer of the Puducherry Public Works Department (PWD), along with a private contractor, on charges of bribery.
An official said that the arrests were made shortly after a bribe amount of Rs 2 lakh was exchanged.
The CBI said that it had registered a case on Saturday against the accused and other unidentified persons.
“The case pertains to allegations that the Executive Engineer, under whose jurisdiction the contractor was executing a road contract for the PWD in Karaikal, demanded a bribe of Rs 6 lakh,” the official said.
He added that this amount, approximately 1 per cent of the total estimated tender value of Rs 7.44 crore, was allegedly intended for the Chief Engineer to ensure timely site clearance and payment approvals without delay.
“Acting on the complaint, we laid a trap on March 22 and caught the accused red-handed as the Executive Engineer accepted Rs 2 lakh from the contractor in the presence of the Chief Engineer,” the CBI official said.
He said that the bribe amount was recovered from the Executive Engineer’s possession and an additional Rs 50,000 was recovered from the contractor’s vehicle.
He added that following the arrests, CBI teams conducted searches at the residential and official premises of the accused in Puducherry and Karaikal.
“These searches led to the recovery of Rs 73 lakh in unaccounted cash - Rs 65 lakh from the Chief Engineer’s residence and Rs 8 lakh from the Executive Engineer’s residence - along with several incriminating documents,” the official said.
He added that all three accused were produced before the Judicial Magistrate I, Karaikal, on Sunday and were remanded to judicial custody.
--IANS
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