In a sensational drama witnessed in Silchar on Monday, a team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from Shillong, Kolkata and Delhi, arrested, Rakesh Mohon Kotwal, zonal manager of National Projects Construction Corporation Limited (NPCC), and Binod Singhi, director of Shree Gautam Construction Company Limited.
With the arrests of these two, CBI has also raided 18 other places throughout the country and picked up five others in a case of bribing for getting construction work, especially, construction of Border Out Posts (BOPs), border fencing, and all other construction works attached to it.
Apart from the prized catch of Binod Singhi, who is the brother of Bilasipara’s BJP MLA, Ashok Singhi, another director of Shree Gautam Constructions, Anish Baid, was arrested from Guwahati, Latiful Pasha, manager-engineering of NPCC, from Jalpaiguri and Dharmendra Kumar, Ramesh Kumar and Sunil Kumar from Delhi.
The curtain for this whole drama that led to CBI jump in, began in Delhi’s one of the hotels in Safdarjang Enclave on Sunday, last, when through a hawala route, Ramesh Kumar, an employee of Shree Gautam Constructions, and Sunil Kumar, a relative of Rakesh Mohon Kotwal, with a sum of Rs 25 lakhs, were caught red handed.
As per CBI report, in March this year, Silchar based zonal office of NPCC and its head, Rakesh Mohon Kotwal, inducted Jalpaiguri based Latiful Pasha, to deal for the ‘commission’ for all the projects passed, not only from Shree Gautam Constructions, but, all other contractors.
In the first week of July this year, when the stakes were set for giving Rs 40 lakhs as commission for the stipulated construction work for setting up many BOPs and border fencing too, Director of Shree Gautam Constructions was asked to pay the said amount in Delhi.
Instead of Rs 40 lakhs, through hawala route, Rs 25 lakhs cash were arranged, of which, incidentally Rs 20,70,000 was paid by Binod Singhi of Silchar, also a director of Shree Gautam Constructions.
Both, Rakesh Mohon Kotwal and Binod Singhi, arrested from Silchar on Monday evening, would be taken to Delhi by a flight by the CBI team on Tuesday, for further investigation into the matter, informed CBI sources.