The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will examine all recent contracts awarded by Munitions India Limited (MIL) executive director Anil Kumar, who was arrested earlier this week for allegedly conniving with private contractors to extend favours to them at the state-run defence company in exchange for bribes, people familiar with the development said.
He is currently being interrogated by the agency’s sleuths, as allegations include leaking sensitive information related to defence production and procurement in exchange for bribes. SMPP’s CEO Ashish Kansal and Kumar’s brother B Harshvardhan have also been arrested. The agency has alleged that Kumar was demanding and accepting illegal gratification from private contractors and vendors in exchange for official favours and the disclosure of sensitive information concerning defence production, procurement, and other strategically important activities of the company. The agency has invoked sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The agency recovered ₹ 1.73 crore cash from Kumar’s premises and another ₹ 50 lakh from further raids at various locations in Mysuru, Bengaluru and Delhi.
Officials said they will write to the defence ministry as well as MIL management to seek files or contracts handled by Kumar “to see the links between procurement decisions, private vendors and payments”.
“MIL’s contracts are sensitive and important for the country’s security. Officials said that during interrogation, it was learnt that the cash was the bribe amount for favouring SMPP Limited in a ₹ 500 crore ammunition deal.
We will look into all the defence contracts handled by Kumar at MIL,” said an officer, who asked not to be named. CBI had received information that huge amounts of cash were being delivered through ‘hawala’ to Kumar at his residence in Pune, after which a raid was carried out, and he was taken into custody on Wednesday.
