NHAI scam: CBI books 2 engineers, builders for doctoring road quality reports

New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) Exposing a massive cash-for-quality audit report scam in NHAI, the CBI booked two engineers, a resolution board member of the Authority and five others, including builders and a middleman, over bribes of more than Rs 10 lakh linked to a project in Jharkhand, an official said on Monday.

The CBI booked two National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Deputy Managers and a retired engineer empanelled as Dispute Resolution Board (DRB) Member by the Authority for bribes in lieu of furnishing favourable Quality Audit Report (QAR) to a group of contractors working on the Rs 818 crore project for widening National Highway-75 in Jharkhand.

A Quality Audit Team assessed the project executed by a number of contractors and sub-contractors with Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon being in the lead, between June 26 and June 30, the FIR said.

The FIR accused the NHAI representatives of indulging in the corrupt practice of accepting and/or conspiring to take illegal gratification, in lieu of furnishing favourable QAR for inspection of Package-III project in Ranchi, Jharkhand, from Manish Mishra, Chief Operating Officer, M/s Bharat Vanijya Eastern Private Limited (BVEPL).

According to source information received by the federal agency, Rakesh Bhasin, empanelled as Dispute Resolution Board (DRB) Member, NHAI, and retired Chief Engineer, Military Engineering Service, was supposed to be paid a bribe of Rs 4 lakh at his residence in Jaipur while NHAI’s Deputy Manager Swatantra Gaurav’s Gurugram-based friend Dheeraj collected Rs 5 lakh on his behalf.

A bribe of Rs 1 lakh was to be delivered to another NHAI Deputy Manager Vishwajeet Singh on the instruction of Manish Mishra, said the FIR.

The CBI FIR registered on July 12 said, “The above acts of obtaining and accepting undue advantage by the said public servants, private persons and unknown officials of NHAI are disclosing offences punishable under Sections 7, 7A, 8, 9, 10 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) and 61(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Hence, a regular case is registered…”

The provisions mentioned in the FIR deal with criminal conspiracy and the offence of a public servant being bribed or attempting to obtain any undue advantage,

--IANS

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