Bhubaneswar, July 3 (Agency) 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 in a bribe case. CBI sources on Wednesday said all the four were arrested for demanding and accepting bribes of Rs 1 lakh for extending favour to the firm of the Proprietor in securing a tender relating to transportation of rice grain. The CBI had registered a case on June 28 last 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 accused FCI General Manager, in connivance with middlemen, and Manager (Accounts) of FCI and accused Proprietor of 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 pertaining to transportation of rice grain.
The GM of the FCI, favoured accused Proprietor of a firm who had participated in the tender in the name of a firm, which was declared L-1 pertaining to ‘Transportation of Rice Grain’. 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 bribe in lieu of this favour rendered to her. CBI laid a trap and the GM, FCI and Proprietor and other accused middleman, were caught upon delivery of a bribe amount of Rs. 1 lakh. All the three accused were caught during trap and the arrested accused persons were produced before the Competent Court at Bhubaneswar which remanded them to police custody till July 6 next. CBI also conducted searches at Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar which led to recovery of approximately Rs 5 lakh cash, locker keys, mobiles, laptops and incriminating documents. The investigation is continuing.