The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has terminated the services of inspector Rahul Raj, who was allegedly caught red handed accepting a bribe of ₹10 lakh during the investigation of irregularities in Madhya Pradesh’s nursing colleges, officials at the agency said on Wednesday.
Two officials of Madhya Pradesh Police — inspectors Sushil Kumar Majoka and Rishikant Asathe, who were earlier attached with the CBI — have also been repatriated due to their alleged involvement in the bribery racket unearthed in the Central agency’s internal vigilance findings, an official said.
Acting on the orders Madhya Pradesh High Court in February, the CBI’s Anti Corruption Bureau, Bhopal had formed various teams to probe irregularities in the nursing colleges in the State.
The agency’s internal vigilance team, however, found out that its own officials were involved in a bribery racket and were giving favourable inspection reports to colleges in exchange of money, the CBI had said in a statement on Monday.
The CBI, in the following action, has so far booked 23 people, including four of its officials, chairpersons, directors and officials of various nursing colleges across the State, and some middlemen and touts.
The agency said Mr. Raj was caught on May 18 “red handed while accepting an illegal gratification of ₹10 lakhs from one Anil Bhaskaran and his wife Suma Anil”. Mr. Bhaskaran is the chairperson of a nursing college.
“In follow up action, CBI, New Delhi conducted searches at 31 places in Bhopal, Indore, Ratlam and Jaipur and effected recoveries of over ₹2.33 Crore in cash, four gold bars, 36 digital devices and over 150 incriminating documents,” the CBI statement read.
Apart from Mr. Raj, the agency has also arrested 12 other accused in the case. All of them have been remanded to CBI custody till May 29.
The arrested accused include Mr. Majoka, Mr. Bhaskaran and his wife, Jugal Kishore and Om Goswami, directors of separate nursing colleges, who acted as middlemen between the CBI’s inspection teams and various college managements.
The CBI has claimed that its officials received bribes ranging between ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh. Various nursing officers and patwaris attached with the CBI inspection teams also received ₹25-50,000 and ₹5-20,000, respectively.
