The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday arrested a lieutenant colonel working under the defence ministry and another individual on allegations of bribery.
Those arrested have been identified as Lieutenant Colonel Deepak Kumar Sharma, a Deputy Planning Officer (International Cooperation and Exports) with the Department of Defence Productions, and a private individual named Vinod Kumar.
The CBI filed a case in the matter on Friday based on “reliable source information” against Sharma, his wife Colonel Kajal Bali – who is the Commanding Officer of 16 Infantry Division Ordnance Unit in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar – and others, including representatives of a Dubai-based company.
The agency alleged that Kumar delivered a bribe of Rs 3 lakh at the behest of the company to Sharma on December 18.
The CBI said that two Bengaluru-based persons named Rajiv Yadav and Ravjit Singh were looking after the India operations of the company. It alleged that Yadav and Singh were in regular contact with Sharma, and were, in connivance with him, pursuing “various undue favours by illegal means for their company from various government departments and ministries”.
“It is alleged that Lt. Col. Sharma habitually indulges in corrupt and illegal activities in criminal conspiracy with representatives of various private companies dealing in defence products manufacturing, export, etc, by obtaining undue advantage/bribe from them in exchange of providing undue favours to them,” the CBI alleged in a press release.
Sharma and Kumar were produced before court on Saturday and were remanded to police custody till December 23.
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