CBI arrests 10 over bribery for NAAC accreditation

Vijayawada: The CBI arrested 10 persons, including members of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) inspection team and office bearers of Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF) based at Vaddeswaram in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. The arrests were made in connection with allegations of bribery for securing a favourable NAAC A++ accreditation rating for the institution.The case, registered by the CBI, involves senior officials of KLEF, including the institution's vice-chancellor GP Saradhi Varma, and members of the NAAC inspection team, who are accused of accepting undue advantages in exchange for manipulating accreditation ratings. As part of the investigation, the agency conducted search operations at 20 locations across India, including Chennai, Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Palamu, Sambalpur, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Gautam Budh Nagar, and New Delhi. During the searches, officials recovered nearly 37 lakh in cash, besides other items including gold and iPhones from the accused. The investigation would be widened as several details regarding the bribery network and involvement of other individuals have come to light, CBI sources said.