CSIR-NEIST scientist official among 4 arrested by CBI on bribery charges

New Delhi, Jul 27 (PTI) The CBI has arrested four people, including an official and a principal scientist of the Jorhat-based CSIR-NEIST for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 8 lakh from a businessman to pass a equipment purchase contract, officials said on Saturday.
    The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-North East Institute of Science and Technology (CSIR-NEIST) is a research and development organisation based in Assam's Jorhat.
    The institute's Controller of Stores and Purchase (COSP) Praveer Mohan Verma and Principal Scientist Prasenjit Manna were taking the bribe from Kangkan Kashyap of KXK Technologies Pvt. Ltd and his brother Angkan Borpujari for favouring the company and passing a bill for the supply of a spectrophotometer and its associated software, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleged.
    The probe agency laid a trap and arrested Manna, Verma and Borpujari in Jorhat on Friday, and Kashyap from Guwahati on Saturday, the officials said.
    The CBI has also conducted searches at 18 locations in Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, they said.
    The FIR in the case alleges that five CSIR officials were favouring different companies in the matter of purchase contracts, the officials said.
    Besides the four arrested persons, the CBI has also named three more officials -- Finance and Accounts Officer at CSIR-NIEST Abhay Sakhare; Senior Principal Scientist at the Centre for Infectious Disease Jatin Kalita; and Rama Shankar Sharma, the then controller of finance and accounts (CoFA) at CSIR-NIEST who is currently working as CoFA at the CSIR-NIScPR (National Institute of Science, Communication and Policy Research) in New Delhi, they said.    
    The agency has alleged that Sharma had contacted the CSIR headquarters in New Delhi and pursued for the allocation of a fund of Rs 7 crore to NEIST, Jorhat, for the purchase of the equipment to be supplied by KXK Technologies, the officials said.
    Verma and Sakhare then allegedly discussed their shares of the bribe, Rs 7 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively, they said.
    "It was further alleged that accused senior principal scientist (Kalita) allegedly had also indicated for payment of his bribe share by said director (Kashyap) of private company with assurance in all such future work orders of CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat," the CBI spokesperson said.
    Kashyap allegedly transferred Rs 9 lakh to the account of Borpujari's consultancy firm and instructed him to withdraw Rs 8 lakh, the officials said.
    He directed his brother to deliver the Rs 7 lakh bribe to Verma and keep Rs 1 lakh with him.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)