Guwahati, Oct 16 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a senior official of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) from Guwahati on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh.
Maisnam Riten Kumar Singh, the Executive Director and Regional Officer of NHIDCL, was arrested on Wednesday. According to CBI sources, the allegation is that Singh took the bribe in exchange for issuing a favorable extension of time and a completion certificate for a four-lane project underway on National Highway-37 in Assam.
Singh was caught red-handed during a ‘trap operation’ while accepting the illegal amount from a private contractor associated with the project. The CBI also detained Vinod Kumar Jain, a representative of the contracting company, on charges of aiding the bribe transaction.
A large amount of assets was seized during subsequent searches at several locations linked to Singh. Investigators recovered unaccounted cash amounting to two crore sixty-two lakh rupees (Rs 2.62 crore), along with ownership documents for 20 flats and 9 plots located in various areas. Additionally, other property records and high-value assets have been seized, the total value of which is currently being assessed.
Both Singh and Jain have been produced before the Special Judge for CBI cases in Guwahati. The agency has confirmed that its investigation is ongoing, focusing on the source of Singh’s wealth and whether similar irregularities occurred in other NHIDCL projects.
