Two MCD officials caught red‑handed taking Rs 4 lakh bribe

Two senior MCD officers held for allegedly taking Rs 4 lakh bribe

• CBI arrests two senior MCD officials for Rs 4 lakh bribery
• Officials caught accepting bribe to influence inquiry report
• Court grants one-day CBI custody for further investigation

Did our AI summary help?

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two senior officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh from suspended employees in exchange for a favourable inquiry report, officials informed a Delhi court as reported by The Indian Express.

The accused have been identified as Deputy Commissioner Lt Col Abhishek Kumar Mishra and Administrative Officer Devanshu Gautam, both posted in the Shahdara North Zone. The arrests were made following a complaint filed by two suspended MCD employees who alleged that the officials had demanded money to influence the outcome of an inquiry against them.

During the operation, Gautam allegedly accepted the money on behalf of Mishra. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh then sent the arrested officers to one-day CBI custody. “In the considered opinion of this court, one day police custody of both the accused seems justified,” the Judge said in his order as reported by The Indian Express.

According to the CBI's court filings, which are documented in the order, MCD officials Mukesh Kumar Sharma and his colleague Gajender Kumar were suspended, and Lt. Mishra was conducting their departmental investigation. As Mishra's "conduit," Gautam requested the bribe to show favour to the suspended officers in the departmental proceedings.

Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught the two officers red-handed while accepting the bribe after suspended officer Mukesh filed a complaint with them on March 27. The CBI told the court that after Gautam reportedly received the bribe from Mukesh inside his car, the agency caught him red-handed.

The court was informed that Gautam contacted Mishra on Monday at 2:39 p.m. But there was no response to this call. Eleven minutes later, the second call was reportedly hung up. The third call, purportedly placed at 4:05 p.m., was taken. The CBI informed the court that during this contact, Gautam informed Mishra about Mukesh and Gajender's "delivery of 4 lakhs." The transcript of the purported conversation was also recorded by the CBI.

As per The Indian Express, “The copy of transcript of communication between A1 (Mishra) & A2 (Gautam) clearly reflects that A2 informed A1 after receipt of the bribe amount that Rs. 4 lakh have been delivered. In that communication, A2 specifically told A1 that Mukesh and another came and met him and that they have delivered ‘four”, by specifically stating 4 diya hai sir….. 4 diya hai sir (have given four sir),” the court order read.

Following their arrest, the CBI presented both accused before a special court, seeking custody for further interrogation. The court granted police custody to allow investigators to examine the circumstances surrounding the bribery and to identify any larger network or pattern of misconduct.

CM Rekha Gupta responded to the arrests in a post on X on Tuesday, saying, “Zero tolerance for corruption in Delhi.Strict action. No exceptions. No protection for anyone. We are unwavering in our commitment to clean and transparent governance.”