Delhi MCD deputy commissioner caught taking Rs 4 lakh bribe from suspended officials

NEW DELHI: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a deputy commissioner and an administrative officer of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in connection with an alleged bribery case involving Rs 4 lakh, officials said on Tuesday.

A case was registered on Monday against Devanshu Gautam, an administrative officer of Shahdara North Zone, following allegations that he had demanded the bribe from a complainant on behalf of Lt. Col. Abhishek Mishra, deputy commissioner of the same zone.

The complainant, who is also an MCD staffer, stated, “I am a senior sector assistant. My colleague is a junior secretariat assistant. I was suspended from service on May 2, 2023, and my colleague was suspended on March 28, 2024.”

The complainant added, “Our departmental inquiry is being conducted by Mishra. To rule in our favour and forward the matter to competent authorities, Gautam is demanding Rs 2 lakh from each of us as bribe on Mishra’s behalf. We do not wish to pay any bribe and request you to take appropriate action against the both of them.”

Acting on the complaint, CBI laid a trap and caught Gautam red-handed while accepting the bribe. During preliminary probe, Mishra’s alleged involvement came to light, following which both officials were taken into custody. They were produced before Rouse Avenue Court, which granted CBI their custody for a day for further investigation.

The agency is trying to find out the full extent of the alleged corruption and any possible involvement of other individuals in the case.

Former mayor Shyam Sunder Agarwal later told reporters, “The victim (the senior sector assistant) told me one of his files was with Mishra and that he had repeatedly requested Mishra to move the file forward so that he could receive his salary. But his requests were ignored. I told him the only option was to go to CBI. We went to the CBI office and it took his complaint and registered an FIR. The administrative officer, who had called the senior sector assistant to Rajghat with the bribe, was caught red-handed while accepting the money.”