PUNE: CBI arrested Munitions India Limited (MIL) executive director Anil Kumar and two private people in a bribery case linked to alleged illegal gratification for official favours and disclosure of sensitive defence production and procurement information.The two others arrested were Ashish Kansal, CEO and director-promoter of SMPP Ltd, a private defence manufacturer, and B Harshavardhan, Anil Kumar’s brother, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) stated in a release. The arrests were made on Tuesday, a day after CBI registered a case.“During searches on the MIL executive director’s premises in Khadki, CBI recovered Rs 1.73 crore. Searches on his premises in Mysuru, Bengaluru and Delhi led to the recovery of approximately Rs 50 lakh and incriminating documents, taking the total cash seizure to around Rs 2.23 crore. Investigation is continuing,” stated the release.MIL authorities told TOI that CBI was investigating the case and that the organisation had no information to share with the media at this stage. According to officials at MIL, a state-owned defence enterprise, Kumar was associated with several key projects, including drone orders MIL received from the ministry of defence in recent months.CBI: MIL executive director parked illicit proceeds through wife According to the FIR, a reliable source informed the agency that the executive director Kumar, while posted at Munitions India Limited (MIL)’s Pune headquarters, was allegedly acting in connivance with private contractors and vendors to demand and accept illegal gratification in exchange for extending official favours and disclosing sensitive information concerning defence production, procurement and other strategically important activities of the company.It stated that such unauthorised disclosures could compromise national security, undermine the integrity of defence-related processes and pose risks to public safety.The FIR alleged that Kansal, the chief executive officer and director-promoter of a private company engaged in drone technology and ammunition manufacturing, was in regular contact with the MIL executive director regarding an official contract worth Rs500 crore awarded to the firm for the supply of ammunition to MIL over a period of one year.CBI alleged that Kumar was routing and parking substantial portions of the illicit proceeds through his wife, brother and other relatives to retain the money allegedly generated through corruption. His wife and brother were named in the FIR.According to the FIR, the executive director was suspected of receiving a substantial bribe on Oct 12 from the private company’s chief executive. He had purportedly instructed his brother, a resident of Mysuru, to travel to Pune the following morning to collect the money for concealment.The case was registered on Oct 12 under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and sections 7, 8, 9 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018.
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