SHILLONG : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested the Project Director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Shillong, along with two private individuals in connection with an alleged ₹12 lakh bribery case linked to the clearance of a contractor’s pending payment.
Those arrested are Aanand Singh Chouhan, Project Director of NHAI Shillong, and private individuals Punit Agarwal and Manish Agarwal. The case was registered on July 1 after Mohd. Matlebuddin Ahmed, Director of Purvanchal Buildtech, approached the CBI with a complaint alleging that Chouhan demanded ₹12 lakh to clear an outstanding bill of ₹13.38 crore. Investigators said the official allegedly asked the contractor to pay ₹4 lakh in advance as the first instalment of the bribe. The money was to be delivered through private intermediaries in Guwahati.
The complainant was first directed to hand over the cash to Punit Agarwal, who allegedly asked him to pass the amount to Manish Agarwal instead. After verifying the allegations, the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Guwahati launched a trap operation under the supervision of DIG Ashutosh Singh. During the operation, one of the accused was allegedly caught while accepting the ₹4 lakh from the complainant.
The operation was followed by the arrest of all three accused. CBI teams also carried out searches at their premises as part of the investigation. The agency said further investigation is underway to establish the full extent of the alleged bribery network and gather additional evidence.