• City Reports

    BSNL GM trap in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur: More victims come forward

    More than 40 people who were allegedly forced to pay bribes approach CBI.

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    Last Updated:

    April 9, 2017, 10:30 am

    CBI

    Jaipur: After reading the news of BSNL general manager (GM) Rajesh Bansal by the CBI in Bharatpur, many more victims have reportedly come forward, suggesting rampant corruption in the work of the laying of OFC line cable under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India campaign.

    Read Also: Bharatpur CBI trap: BSNL GM Bansal converted bribes into white money through his NGO

    Sources said that since Bansal’s arrest, more than 40 people who were allegedly forced to pay bribes have approached CBI complaining against Bansal. The CBI will likely recorded their statements and include them in the investigation if they found evidence. Bansal was deputed as telecom district manager (TDM) in Bharatpur.

    Bansal was arrested from his official residence in Bharatpur for demanding bribe from a contractor to approve bills of Rs 60 lakh for laying OFC line cable.

    Read Also: Bharatpur Bribery case: BSNL GM Bansal remanded in CBI custody for 3 days

    Contractor Sukhveer Singh approached the CBI and registered a complaint after Bansal demanded bribe from him. Singh had carried out work of lying OFC cable line to connect Atal Sewa Kendra of all village panchayats in Nagar Pahari area in Bharatpur.

    Singh submitted bills of Rs 60 lakh after completing the work. Bansal allegedly demanded Rs 1.20 lakh bribe at the rate of 2 percent of the total bill.

    Bansal allegedly agreed to accept Rs 1 lakh after negotiations.

    CBI has arrested other BSNL officials for demanding bribes from contractors for laying OFC cables in the recent past.

    In February 2017, Three BSNL officials were arrested by the CBI for allegedly accepting a bribe of around Rs 60,000 for a contractor in Rajasthan’s Bundi. The three accused identified as Assistant General Manager Manoj Tripati, Sub divisional Officer R P Pandey and Junior Telecom Officer Pradeep Meena allegedly demanded the bribe from a contractor for sanctioning a bill for laying cables in the area.

    Similarly,  the CBI in Maharashtra’s Pune arrested Kamlesh Hari Waikar, a BSNL SDO, in Ahmednagar for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a contractor in connection with work related to cable laying.

    First published: April 8, 2017