The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested two officers ( an Accounts Officer & Junior Accounts Officer) of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Dispur, Guwahati (Assam), and three employees, one of which included the Executive Director of a private company named GR Infraprojects Ltd based at Gurugram (Haryana) in an alleged bribery of Rs. 4 lakh.
A case was registered against these officers. Numerous allegations were made in relation to extending favors to the said company by the officers of NHAI for processing & clearance of bills, the release of Bank Guarantees, etc. in lieu of illegal gratifications.
Foxconn's Indian subsidiary gets SEBI approval, read more.
It was further alleged that the GR Infraprojects Ltd had executed a contract in 2018 for road widening in Meghalaya for which NHAI was to issue the discharge certificate after completion of mandatory maintenance of 4 years as of 31.03.2022 for which an amount in the form of bribery was paid to the officers of NHAI.
CBI caught the officers of NHAI red-handedly for demanding & accepting the bribe of Rs. 4 lakh from an employee of the GR Infraprojects Ltd.
CBI conducted the searches at various places including Guwahati, Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Shillong, and recovered a cash amount in approximate of Rs. 2.33 crore from the premises of the Executive director and the Chairman, Vijay Kumar Agarwal, and from the company's corporate office situated in Gurugram.
A clarification issued by GR Infra read: “A team of CBI officials conducted a search at the residence of Vijay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman, and also at the corporate office of the company situated at Gurugram, Haryana, on 13th June 2022. The search at the residence of the Chairman has been completed, while the search is still in process at the corporate office, and we understand that few employees of the company are arrested at the project site."
All the arrested officials shall be produced before the Guwahati Court.
The stock of GR infra projects Ltd. made a debut in the Secondary market, post covid fall, on 17th July 2021 at a 105% premium at Rs. 1700. On 13th June 2022, after the news of the CBI raid came out, the stock fell down by 9.32% and closed at Rs. 1233.85. Today, on 14th June 2022, the stock opened at Rs. 1180 and is trading at its all-time low, down by 6.96%.
-By Gautam
This news piece is brought to you in association with jobaaj.com