New Delhi, Feb 25 (UNI) The Anti-Corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Lucknow, has conducted searches across Uttar Pradesh and Odisha in connection with alleged tender irregularities involving officials of WAPCOS Limited, a Central public sector undertaking.
According to officials, the CBI registered an FIR on February 20 against seven individuals, including WAPCOS Project Manager Pankaj Dubey and two other officials, Bhabadyuti Bhutia and Abhishek Thakur, who were posted in Bhubaneswar.
The case pertains to the alleged fraudulent award of a contract worth over Rs 11 crore to a Uttar Pradesh-based contractor, Bablu Singh Yadav, for setting up a tamarind processing unit in the Rayagada district of Odisha.
Investigators suspect that Dubey was involved in corrupt practices and had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with his brother Pawan Dubey, alleged middleman Gopal Mishra, fellow WAPCOS officials Bhutia and Thakur, and contractors Bablu Singh Yadav and Rameshwar Chaturvedi. The accused are believed to have colluded to secure undue benefits in the execution of the project.
The agency is examining documents and other evidence seized during the searches as part of its ongoing probe.
