New Delhi, 17th June 2023: The CBI reportedly searched 25 premises concerning an FIR filed against 21 BSNL executives, including a former general manager.
According to the main investigative agency, the accused officials conspired with a contractor to defraud the government-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
The CBI is said to have filed an FIR against BSNL Assam Circle personnel in Jorhat, Sibsagar, Guwahati, and other cities, including a former general manager, deputy general manager, assistant general manager, and chief accounts officer.
The contractor was allegedly awarded a work order for laying National Optical Fibre Network Cable via open trenching for $90,000 per kilometre,” a CBI spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday.
“It was also alleged that later on, the contractor made various pleas, including no right of way from the owner of private land, to convert the open trenching method to horizontal directional drilling method at 2.30 lakh per km despite the provision of the right of way, easement clause in the contract,” the official said.
Following filing the FIR, the CBI conducted searches at 25 sites, including the accused’s workplaces and residences in Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Haryana, he added.
