CBI nabs senior GM of Power Grid Corp, KEC executive during bribe exchange; company V-P named in FIR

New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) The CBI has arrested Uday Kumar, senior GM of Power Grid Corporation of India, for allegedly taking a bribe of ₹2.4 lakh from an executive of Mumbai-based KEC International to extend favours to the company, officials said on Friday.

Kumar, posted in Rajasthan’s Ajmer, was nabbed late on Wednesday along with Suman Singh of KEC International in Sikar where both had agreed to meet for alleged exchange of the bribe amount, they said.

“The bribe was allegedly paid for extending undue favours in processing and passing of bills related to contracts of the PSU (public sector undertaking) awarded to the private company,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

The agency raided the premises where Kumar and Singh were caught red-handed during the bribe exchange. They were arrested in the early hours of Thursday after the completion of formalities, he said.

The officials said the FIR named KEC International and five individuals, including senior executives of the company, as accused.

In addition to Kumar and Singh, the CBI has also named Jabraj Singh, KEC International’s vice-president and head of transmission and distribution in North India, as an accused in the FIR.

The FIR also names Atul Agrawal, senior manager of finance and accounts at KEC International in Jaipur, and company employee Ashutosh Kumar as accused.

No immediate comments were available from the company.

The CBI spokesperson said in the statement, “It was alleged that the accused public servant of Power Grid Corporation of India, while acting in connivance with accused representatives of the private company, was facilitating and extending undue favours in processing and passing of bills related to contracts of Power Grid Corporation of India awarded to the accused private company in lieu of illegal gratification.”

The agency conducted searches at the residential and the official premises of the accused in Sikar, Jaipur and Mohali, leading to the recovery of several incriminating documents and digital devices, according to the statement.