Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four accused including two public servants including a Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP) and a Principal Scientist, both of CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; and two private persons including a Director of a Private Company and his brother, who delivered bribe to the arrested public servants in a Rs 8 lakh bribery case.

CBI registered a case on July 26^th 2024 against five public servants including a Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP), CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a Principal Scientist, CID, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a Finance and Accounts Officer (F&AO), CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; a then Controller of Finance and Accounts (CoFA) presently working as CoFA, CSIR-NIScPR (National Institute of Science, Communication and Policy Research), New Delhi; and a Senior Principal Scientist, CID [Centre For Infectious Disease], CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat; and two private persons including Director of M/private company having registered office at New Delhi; and Jorhat (Assam) resident brother of the Director of said private company and unknown others relevant sections of PC Act and BNS.

It was alleged in the FIR that, the accused public servants were involved in corrupt and illegal activities of obtaining undue advantage from different private parties/ companies in lieu of extending undue favour in the matter of purchase and award of contracts.

It was also alleged that accused then Controller of Finance and Accounts (CoFA) had contacted CSIR Headquarters, New Delhi, and pursued for allocation of a fund of Rs. 7 Crores Approx. for incurring expenditure by NEIST, Jorhat, Assam towards purchase of the equipment to be supplied by the company of its accused Director.

Thereafter, accused Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP)-bribe receiver and accused Finance and Accounts Officer (F&AO), allegedly discussed regarding their share of bribe as a sum of Rs. 7 Lakh and Rs. 2 Lakh. It was further alleged that accused Senior Principal Scientist, allegedly, had also indicated for payment of his bribe share by said Director of private company with assurance in all such future work orders of CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat.

It was also alleged that accused Director informed his brother that he would be sending a sum of Rs. 9 Lakh in the Bank Account of of consultancy firm and instructed him to withdraw a sum of Rs. 8 Lakh in cash, out of which he was told to deliver a bribe amount of Rs. 7 Lakh to accused Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP) and keep the remaining sum of Rs. 1 Lakh with himself.

CBI laid a trap and caught accused Controller of Stores & Purchase (COSP) and Principal Scientist, CID, both of NEIST, at Jorhat on 26.07.2024 while having obtained undue advantage of Rs. 7 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh respectively from co-accused brother of the accused Director of Private Company for extending favour to his Cooany in the matter of award of contract and passing of Bill for supply of the Spectrophotometer and its associated software.

The bribe amounts were recovered from both the said accused public servants. They were arrested at Jorhat alongwith the person (brother of the said Director of private company) who delivered bribe to the public servants on July 26^th. Accused Director of the said private company was arrested on July 27^th 2024 from Guwahati.

Searches at 18 different places (office / residential / business premises) of the accused persons located in Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Delhi have been conducted and incriminating documents/articles were recovered. All the four arrested accused persons are being produced before the competent Court at Guwahati.

CSIR NEIST Jorhat CSIR NEIST Controller Of Stores Purchase COSP Cbi Central Bureau Of Investigation National Institute Of Science Communication And Policy Research Guwahati Bribery Bribe Corruption