New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered three separate cases against 10 accused including five public servants, then Director, then Senior Scientist and Head, Director's Research Cell and then Principal Scientists, all of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- National Environment Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur and private firms based at Navi Mumbai, Thane, Powai, Prabhadevi and one more private firm related to alleged corruption, the probe agency said on Wednesday.
According to CBI officials, these cases have been filled on the allegations of criminal conspiracy and corruption based on a complaint received from the Central Vigilance Commission (CVO) of CSIR, New Delhi against 10 persons and private firms.
Searches were being conducted at around 17 locations in Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar and Delhi. This has so far led to the recovery of incriminating documents, property-related documents and jewellery, CBI officials informed.
The first case has been registered against two public servants and three private firms. The accused public servants in this case are then Director and then Senior Scientist & Head Director’s Research Cell, CSIR- NEERI, Nagpur while accused private firms include a Navi Mumbai-based private firm, a Thane-based private firm and a Powai-Mumbai based private firm, the CBI said in a statement.
"The accused public servants allegedly entered (into) conspiracy with accused private companies allowing cartelisation and collusive bidding, splitting of tenders or works, not obtaining the financial concurrence of the competent authority, in lieu of alleged undue advantage. All the three accused private companies participated in tenders issued by CSIR-NEERI and Navi Mumbai-based private firm was awarded work in most of the tenders," CBI said.
"It is also alleged that one of the Directors of the accused Navi Mumbai based private firm is the wife of a contractual staff who has been a long-standing associate of Director, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur," it stated.
The second case has been registered against public servants including then Director and a then Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur and a private firm based at Prabhadevi-Mumbai on the allegations that the accused public servants in criminal conspiracy with the accused private firm abused their official positions for obtaining an undue advantage for the accused private firm during the period 2018-19, the probe agency said.
It is also alleged that during the year 2018-19, a joint proposal of CSIR-NEERI and the accused private firm for submission to Thane Municipal Corporation for providing advisory service for the closure of the dumping site at Diva-Khardi at a cost of Rs 19.75 lakhs was approved by the said Director along with accused then Principal Scientist. The selection of the accused private firm was allegedly done arbitrarily on a nomination basis, without consultation of the Financial Advisor, CSIR, the CBI added.
It has been alleged that before assuming charge of Director of CSIR-NEERI, the accused was associated with the accused private firm during the year 2015-16 and was a Member of its Organizing Committee and a Trustee, it stated.
The third FIR has been registered against two public servants and two private firms including the aforesaid Navi Mumbai-based private firm and another private firm. The accused public servants include then Scientist Fellow of Delhi Zonal Centre, NEERI and later Senior Scientist, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur and then Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur.
"Both the public servants in conspiracy with the accused private companies allegedly abused their official position for obtaining undue advantage from these private companies and committed gross irregularities in procurement, fabrication, supply, installation and commissioning of WAYU-II devices," it added.
It has also been alleged that WAYU-II, a patented and proprietary property of NEERI, was exclusively licensed to another accused firm and each time efforts were made to procure WAYU-II devices from the said firm on a single bid basis. Further, the indent was allegedly raised on a single tender basis by inserting a restrictive clause of an exclusive licensee of NEERI’s own technology without ascertaining the validity of the license agreement executed with the said accused firm, the probe agency said.
According to the CBI statement, the license stood allegedly elapsed before the end of the bidding process, and hence the executive licensee clause, which was the basis for single tender, made the bidding process void ab initio. Moreover, five numbers of WAYU-II devices were allegedly also procured from Navi Mumbai-based accused private firm raising questions as how could said Navi Mumbai-based private firm manufacture the device, which had been exclusively licensed to another accused firm. Despite NEERI being the proprietor/patent holder, the act of procuring back a product of its own technology on a single tender basis was allegedly in violation of GFR rules, it stated.
As per CBI, the accused identified in the first case are Dr Rakesh Kumar, the then Director, CSIR- NEERI, Nagpur, Dr Atya Kapley, the then Senior Scientist & Head, Director’s Research Cell, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, and three private firms. The accused in the second case are Dr Rakesh Kumar, the then Director, CSIR- NEERI, Nagpur, Dr Ritesh Vijay, the then Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, and one private firm.
The accused in the third case are Dr Sunil Gulia, the then Scientist Fellow of Delhi Zonal Centre, NEERI and later Senior Scientist, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Goyal, the then Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, and two private firms.
