Bribery Case: CBI Raids Senior IAS Officer’s Residence in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: An eight-member team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reportedly from Delhi on Tuesday launched a raid at the residence of senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi here in connection with a high-profile bribery case involving officials of Bridge and Roof Co. (India) Limited, a Central government PSU under the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Speaking to media persons, the bureaucrat claimed innocence in the case and also alleged that CBI officers were harassing him and his family members.

“I want to clarify that a few work orders have been given to Bridge and Roof Co. (India) Limited following the approval of the state government. The file related to the project remained with me for a few hours only after it came to my notice,” said Sethi.

“I met Chanchal Mukherjee (the Group General Manager (GGM) of Bridge and Roof Co. (India) Limited and one of the accused in the case) after four years. A team from PSU was also present during the meeting. We have not shown any favour to Chanchal Mukherjee. The CBI team has forcefully entered my residence without any lady officers,” he further added.

The senior bureaucrat also alleged that the accused Mukherjee was arrested for taking bribes from two contractors related to another PSU. He claimed that he was not involved in the matter and no case has been registered against him.

In a letter allegedly written by himself, Sethi claimed to tender his resignation as a mark of protest in view of the investigation targeted against him.

Sethi was recently posted as the Officer of Special Duty (OSD) of the General Administration & Public Grievance department. His name surfaced in the bribery case after the CBI issued summonses to the senior bureaucrat asking him to appear before it for questioning.

His drivers have already been grilled by the CBI in connection with the bribery case.

The CBI arrested Chanchal Mukherjee, Santosh Moharana, the director of a private company, and middleman Devadutta Mohapatra near a 5-star hotel in Jaydev Vihar area of Bhubaneswar on December 7.

The sleuths also recovered the bribe amount of Rs 10 lakh from a high-end four-wheeler from the spot during the raid. On the other hand, it was revealed in an alleged official letter that accused Mukherjee along with another senior officer of the PSU, B.K. Singh reportedly met Sethi in his office at Lok Seva Bhawan on December 5, just two days before CBI caught Mukherjee red-handed while receiving the bribe amount on December 7.

–IANS