Vishakapatnam: CBI books Military Engineer Services officer for demanding bribe

Hyderabad: The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked an officer serving at the Military Engineer Services (MES),Vishakapatanam for demanding a bribe from a contractor. The investigating agency was acting based on a complaint filed by J V Ramana of JPR Constructions & Engineers, Vishakapatnam.

The crime dates back to 2019 when contractor J V Ramana was awarded civic work, that is, 'Repair/Replacement of sewerage lines, cleaning, filter beds and soak wells worth Rs 20.92 lakh. Ramana bagged the contract through open tender online and was asked to complete the work within nine month since the beginning of the execution.

As per the complaint, on completion of the work he submitted the first running bill and received Rs 6 lakh as contract payment in 2020.Trouble brewed when the latter submitted the final bill. Though he was issued a completion certificate, the money was not released as late as February 2021.Since the bill amount was not released, J V Ramana met Sankar Narayana- JE – Military Engineer Services- under whose supervision the contract was executed. "Sankar Narayanan demanded him to pay Rs 5 % (Rs 1 lakh) of the bill amount to him and 3 % of the total amount to another MES officer, in order to release the payment.

When Ramana expressed his inability, he altered the bribe to 3 % to him and 2 % to the senior officer. Sankar told Ramana that if he has not paid the bribe amount,the remaining contract amount won't be released and a certificate of adverse observations will be issued against him". Unwilling to pay the bribe amount, Ramana lodged a complaint with the CBI office at Vishakapatnam. A case has been booked under section 7 (a) of Prevention of Corruption Act.