Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a junior engineer working in the office of the Assistant Garrison Engineer (AGE) at the Naval Officers Family Residential Area (NOFRA), in Navy Nagararea of Colaba, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 4.5 lakh from a contractor to clear a pending bill of Rs 40 lakh.
About The Case
The accused Dinesh Pandey was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe in the presence of AGE RS Thakur. The bribe amount was later recovered from a cupboard in Thakur’s chamber. Pandey was produced before a special CBI court and remanded to custody till Monday. The case was registered after a contractor, whose firm had secured a repair contract at NOFRA in May 2023, complained that Pandey demanded Rs 5 lakh to release his long-pending payment.
During verification, CBI found that Pandey insisted on the full bribe amount despite the contractor’s request to reduce it. Following this, a trap was set. On Thursday, when the contractor informed Pandey that he could arrange Rs 4.5 lakh, Pandey agreed to meet him at the office. CBI officials arrested him during the exchange.
During the search, officials recovered the bribe amount from a cupboard in Thakur’s chamber. Additionally, Rs 3.4 lakh in cash and a credit card in the name of Lokesh Sharma were also found there. Both Pandey and Thakur gave evasive replies regarding the stash. While only Pandey has been arrested so far, the CBI suspects a larger nexus and is investigating the source of the funds.
