Bhubaneswar: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has intensified its probe into an alleged corruption scandal at WAPCOS Limited, a central public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, involving the fraudulent awarding of a multimillion-rupee contract for a tamarind processing unit in Odisha’s Rayagada district.
The CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in Lucknow recently carried out searches at multiple locations across Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.
This followed registration of a case on February 20 against seven individuals, including WAPCOS Project Manager Pankaj Dubey and two other officials posted in Bhubaneswar — Bhabadyuti Bhutia and Abhishek Thakur — along with contractors Bablu Singh Yadav and Rameshwar Chaturvedi, middleman Gopal Mishra, and Pankaj Dubey’s brother Pawan Dubey.
According to the CBI, the accused allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to award a contract valued at over Rs 11 crore to Uttar Pradesh-based contractor Bablu Singh Yadav for constructing the tamarind processing facility. Pankaj Dubey was apprehended earlier this month while allegedly accepting a Rs 10 lakh bribe to manipulate the tender process, issue the letter of acceptance, and facilitate the contract in favour of the bidder. Cash transactions linked to the scam included Rs 25 lakh allegedly transported from Ghazipur to Lucknow as part of the payoff arrangement.
The agency said that middleman Gopal helped connect Pankaj with contractor Bablu.
Subsequent investigation revealed that Pankaj and his two subordinates obtained illegal gratification to award contracts and issue letters of acceptance for construction works undertaken by WAPCOS.
