CBI Arrests Plant Quarantine Official, Middleman In Rs 1 Lakh Bribery Case

(MENAFN- IANS) Amaravati, Nov 7 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an Assistant Director of the Plant Quarantine Station (PQS), Visakhapatnam, along with a private individual, in connection with an alleged bribery case involving the clearance of import containers, an official statement said on Saturday.

The accused have been identified as Sudhakara T.M., Assistant Director and In-charge of the Plant Quarantine Station, Visakhapatnam, and Sunkavalli Satyanarayana, a private person who allegedly acted as an intermediary in the transaction.

According to the CBI, a case was registered on November 6 against two officials of the Plant Quarantine Station, including the Assistant Director, along with three private persons and some unidentified individuals.

The agency alleged that the accused public servant demanded an undue advantage of Rs 1 lakh from a private firm in exchange for clearing certain containers awaiting approval from the quarantine station.

Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap on Friday. During the operation, the Assistant Director was allegedly caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount of Rs 1 lakh through the private person.

The agency said the entire bribe money was recovered during the trap proceedings.

Following the operation, both the Assistant Director and the alleged middleman were arrested. The CBI also carried out searches at multiple locations linked to the accused, including premises in Visakhapatnam, Faridabad, and Thimanapalli village in Karnataka's Kolar district.

Investigators are examining documents and other materials seized during the raids as part of the probe.

The arrested accused were produced before the competent court in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. The CBI said further investigation is underway to ascertain the role of other accused persons and to determine whether similar instances of corruption had taken place in connection with container clearance processes at the Plant Quarantine Station.

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