CBI arrests Northern Coalfields official in bribery case

A senior Northern Coalfields Limited official was arrested for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe from a contractor to clear a pending bill, a CBI official said Sunday. NCL senior manager Shailendra Pansari was caught Saturday while accepting a sum of Rs 10,000 from the contractor during a trap laid by the CBI, PK Pandey, CBI Superintendent of Police (SP) said.

Pansari had demanded a commission of 10 percent to clear a bill of Rs 1.27 lakh of the contractor following which the latter approached the Central Bureau of Investigation, he said.

Subsequent searches at Pansari's residence in Singrauli district, around 400 kilometers from here, led to the recovery of Rs 26 lakh in cash and documents of investments to the tune of Rs 1.21 crore, the official said.

The NCL official has been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act and would be produced in the special CBI court here on Monday, the CBI SP said.