Arrested Sambalpur University Professor’s House Searched By CBI In NAAC Rating Bribery Case

Sambalpur: After arresting a professor of Odisha’s Sambalpur University in connection with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) bribery case, CBI conducted necessary investigation and searches at his residence here on Tuesday.

Sources said a team of CBI officials visited the official residence of Bulu Maharana in Sambalpur and carried out a probe in connection with the case. Maharana was among ten persons arrested by the CBI in the bribery case.

While the CBI had earlier arrested Maharana and sealed the house, a team of the agency today searched his residence located at Jyoti Vihar here.

Notably, a CBI team had earlier searched Maharana’s office room in the university and his residence, during which the investigators found various documents.

Maharana, a faculty of the Library Science department of the university, was a part of the six-member team that had gone to inspect an educational institution in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

The central investigating agency has so far arrested 10 persons for allegedly receiving bribe to secure an A++ accreditation for the institution.

The CBI had registered a case and conducted searches across multiple locations in the country, uncovering evidence of “alleged undue advantages” provided to the NAAC inspection team. These bribes reportedly included cash, gold, mobile phones, and laptops, a CBI spokesperson had said earlier.