Retired CBI officer arrested by agency in Rs 25-lakh bribery case

It is alleged that he was in touch with the representative of the company and had demanded a bribe of Rs 25 lakh to settle the case against it, they said. On the basis of information from a source, a CBI team nabbed the private person involved in the case and also recovered the bribe amount which was delivered to the retired officer, they said.

The CBI arrested its recently retired officer, who was involved in fodder scam probe in Bihar and also investigated other high profile cases, for allegedly receiving Rs 25 lakh from a company, Usha Martin, to settle a case against it probed by him, officials said on Saturday. Former CBI officer NMP Sinha was nabbed with a private person who had allegedly delivered the bribe. The money was also recovered by the agency, they said.

The CBI on Saturday conducted searches at eight locations in multiple cities, including the officer's residence in Faridabad. Other places searched include offices of Usha Martin in Ranchi, besides other locations in Delhi and Ghaziabad. It is alleged that Sinha, posted in Economic Offences Wing of the CBI, was handling a case of alleged cheating against mining company Usha Martin regarding a lease given to it for an iron ore mine in Jharkhand in 2005.

He retired in August this year, they said. It is alleged that he was in touch with the representative of the company and had demanded a bribe of Rs 25 lakh to settle the case against it, they said.

On the basis of information from a source, a CBI team nabbed the private person involved in the case and also recovered the bribe amount which was delivered to the retired officer, they said. The CBI has registered a case of alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and under provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act against promoters of Usha Martin, the company and then Jharkhand Government mines director ID Paswan, agency sources said.

It is alleged that the company was favoured in the grant of ore mining lease in Ghatkuri village in Singhbhum West district in 2005 over five other applicants. The state government had favoured Usha Martin in its recommendation to the Centre for the allotment of mine as the company had allegedly promised that it would use the ore in its steel plant in Ghamaria in the state.

The undertaking by the company led the state government to recommend it as a special case for captive consumption. The CBI has alleged that the company later backtracked from the undertaking taking advantage of the fact that the special reason was not specifically mentioned in the Cabinet note in this regard.