Guwahati: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an assistant professor of the College of Agriculture in Pasighat of Arunachal Pradesh, for allegedly accepting a bribe to facilitate a rigged procurement deal.
The accused, Pavan Kumar Gaudar, allegedly colluded with a local vendor, Anand Kumar Dwivedi, proprietor of Matrix Solutions, to manipulate the purchase process and siphon off public funds.
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Both men were arrested on July 23 after the CBI laid a trap and caught Gaudar red-handed while allegedly accepting Rs 55,000 in bribe money from Dwivedi.
According to the FIR filed by the CBI, the scandal centres around the inflated procurement of 30 Milton-branded plastic buckets, delivered on July 3 and billed at Rs 75,000 — or Rs 2,500 per bucket.
However, market rates for the same buckets were found to be approximately Rs 1,200 each, totaling Rs 36,000, raising immediate red flags over financial misconduct.
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The investigation revealed that Gaudar had allegedly demanded Rs 63,000 from Dwivedi — Rs 39,000 as part of the inflated billing and another Rs 24,000 for previous questionable deals.
Dwivedi reportedly agreed to pay Rs 55,000. Furthermore, the CBI uncovered transactions of Rs 1.95 lakh sent to Gaudar’s designated bank account by Dwivedi, believed to be bribes for past favours in other procurement contracts.
“CBI laid a trap and caught both accused red-handed while the public servant was accepting Rs 55,000 in bribe from the private individual,” a CBI spokesperson said. “Searches have also been conducted at multiple premises linked to the accused.”
The duo has been taken into police custody and are expected to face charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The investigation is ongoing, and further arrests have not been ruled out as authorities dig deeper into the procurement records of the agricultural college.