The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Central Public Works Department (CPWD) executive engineer, his relative, and three officials from a Mumbai-based real estate group in connection with an alleged ₹50-lakh bribery case. The arrests follow a sting operation targeting a kickback scheme involving a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for a prime land parcel in Mumbai.
Key Details of the Case
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The Accused Public Servant: Vikrant Verma, a 2014-batch Central Engineering Service (CES) officer posted as a CPWD Executive Engineer in Mumbai since April 2023.
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The Co-Accused:
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Saurav Gupta (Relative of Vikrant Verma)
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Arvind Semwal (Vice President, Baya Group of Companies)
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Chetan Mahajan (Manager, Baya Group)
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Anil Deshmukh (Partner in Renaissance, a partnership firm under the Baya Group)
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The Location: Antop Hill / Wadala area in Sion, Mumbai.
Allegations and Modus Operandi
According to the CBI spokesperson’s official statement:
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The Bribe Demand: The real estate group sought a CPWD NOC certifying that the government department had no claim over a specific parcel of land at Antop Hill, Wadala, where the firm intended to build private luxury apartments.
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Negotiated Amount: Executive Engineer Vikrant Verma allegedly initially demanded a bribe of ₹1 crore, which was later negotiated down to ₹70 lakh through his relative, Saurav Gupta.
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The Irregular Letter: To pressure the company into compliance, Verma allegedly issued the clearance letter without a formal dispatch number, allowing him leverage to secure the balance payment later. The initial transaction was set at ₹50 lakh, with the remaining ₹20 lakh scheduled to be paid a week later.
The CBI Trap and Arrests
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The Bust: On October 1, the CBI laid a trap and apprehended Saurav Gupta while he was actively accepting the ₹50 lakh bribe tranche from the real estate group’s Vice President on behalf of the engineer.
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Simultaneous Apprehensions: Vikrant Verma was intercepted and arrested at Vashi, Navi Mumbai, while waiting to receive the bribe proceeds. Additionally, the real estate group’s manager and the firm’s partner—both present during the transaction—were taken into custody, bringing the total number of arrested individuals to five.
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Seizures: Subsequent search operations across multiple premises linked to the accused in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune resulted in the recovery of an additional ₹53.87 lakh in cash, along with sensitive property and financial documents.
