October 3, 2026: Mumbai. The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Central Public Works Department Executive Engineer and four other people in an alleged CPWD bribery case connected with a land-related No-Objection Certificate in Mumbai.
The arrests followed a CBI operation on October 1, when the agency said it recovered Rs. 50 lakh that was allegedly being delivered on behalf of the public servant.
According to the CBI, the Executive Engineer had initially demanded Rs. 1 crore through a relative. The alleged demand was subsequently negotiated to Rs. 70 lakh.
The payment was allegedly sought for issuing an NOC stating that the CPWD had no claim over a parcel of land at Wadala. An unnamed Mumbai-based real estate group intended to undertake a construction project on the site.
The CBI said the engineer’s relative, a Pune resident, was intercepted while carrying Rs. 50 lakh allegedly received from the real estate group’s Vice President. The agency alleged that the money had been accepted on behalf of the Executive Engineer.
The engineer was apprehended at Vashi in Navi Mumbai, where, according to the CBI, he was waiting to receive the payment.
A manager associated with the real estate group and a partner of the firm seeking the NOC were also arrested after being present during the transaction, the agency said. Five people were arrested in total.
The CBI further alleged that the NOC had been issued without a corresponding entry in the dispatch register. It said Rs. 50 lakh had been paid and a balance of Rs. 20 lakh remained payable. The supplied source does not specify the condition attached to the proposed balance payment.
Searches were later conducted at premises linked to the accused and their associates in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune. The agency reported recovering about Rs. 53.87 lakh in additional cash, apart from the alleged bribe amount, as well as documents concerning immovable properties.
The accused were being produced before the Special Judge for CBI cases in Mumbai on October 2. The CBI said its investigation was continuing.
