Shillong, July 6, 2026
The CBI arrested a Project Director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Shillong, and two private persons for demanding a bribe of Rs 12 lakh from a contractor in exchange for clearing his outstanding bills worth Rs 13.38 crore, an official said on Monday.
Project Director Aanand Singh Chouhan was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the complaint of Mohd. Matlebuddin Ahmed, Director, Purvanchal Buildtech.
Chouhan’s accomplice, Punit, was also booked on July 1, the CBI said, adding that the NHAI official had asked Ahmed to pay Rs 4 lakh in advance as a bribe for processing the outstanding bill.
Ashutosh Singh, DIG, CBI, ACB, Guwahati, verified Ahmed’s complaint in the presence of independent witnesses and found that Chouhan, on June 30, directed the complainant to hand over the bribe money to one Punit at Guwahati.
The CBI registered the instant case on July 1 against Chouhan, Punit, and others, based on a complaint.
It was alleged that the accused Project Director of NHAI demanded bribe/undue advantage of Rs 12 Lakh from the complainant to process his outstanding bill to the tune of Rs 13.38 crore, the CBI said in a statement.
Chouhan instructed the complainant to hand over the bribe amount to Punit in Guwahati, but Punit did not accept the money himself and told Ahmed to hand it over to another private person.
The CBI laid a trap and caught the private person red-handed while demanding and accepting bribe/undue advantage of Rs 4 Lakh from the complainant, said the statement.
Subsequently, Chouhan, Punit, and another person were arrested, and searches were conducted at their respective premises, the CBI said.
In a separate case, the CBI earlier arrested three individuals, including two public servants from Northern Railways and a private person, in connection with a bribery case involving the award of railway tenders.
Those arrested were identified as Chief Materials Manager (Store), Narender Singh, a Senior Clerk posted at the Northern Railways headquarters, and a representative of a private company.
The agency registered a case against six accused in total, including a Deputy Chief Materials Manager, Shuvashis Maity; the private company; two of its representatives; and unknown other public servants and private persons.(Agency)
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