CBI arrests Delhi PWD engineer, two others in ₹21 lakh bribery case
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday, 29 July 2025 arrested three persons — including an Assistant Engineer (AE) of the Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi — in connection with a bribery racket linked to the execution of government construction projects. The agency recovered a total of over ₹83 lakh in cash during searches at multiple premises.
Who Was Arrested
The three accused have been identified as Roop Singh Meena, Assistant Engineer with the Delhi PWD; Sanjay Kaura, representative of M/s Kaura Construction Company, Rohini, Delhi; and Vikram Kumar, an employee of the same construction firm. The CBI registered the case on Monday, 28 July 2025, following allegations that the PWD official had been misusing his official position to grant undue favours to a government contractor.
How the Bribery Racket Operated
According to the CBI, Roop Singh Meena allegedly facilitated favours related to various construction works awarded by the PWD in exchange for illegal gratification from Sanjay Kaura and his firm. Bribes were reportedly paid through multiple channels — including via employees of M/s Kaura Construction Company — as part of what investigators described as a criminal conspiracy.
On 28 July 2025, Kaura allegedly instructed Vikram Kumar to deliver ₹21 lakh in cash directly to Meena's residence in Pitampura, Delhi. Acting on specific intelligence, CBI officers conducted a raid and recovered the entire ₹21 lakh from the premises.
Cash and Documents Seized
Searches at Meena's residence also yielded an additional ₹15.50 lakh in cash, along with documents described as incriminating by the agency. Separately, searches at Sanjay Kaura's residence resulted in the recovery of ₹46.75 lakh in cash and further documents. In total, investigators seized upwards of ₹83 lakh across the searches conducted on the day of the arrests.
Broader Context and Investigation
The arrests come amid sustained scrutiny of Delhi's public works ecosystem, where contractor-official nexuses have previously drawn regulatory attention. This is not the first instance of a PWD official being caught in a bribery trap — the CBI has registered multiple such cases in the national capital in recent years, pointing to a systemic vulnerability in how government construction contracts are monitored and executed.
The CBI has stated that further investigation is underway to establish the full extent of the alleged corruption network, including whether additional officials or contractors were involved. All three accused were arrested after the recovery of cash and collection of material evidence.
With searches still being analysed, the scope of the alleged racket — and the number of projects potentially compromised — could widen in the days ahead.