CBI summons drivers of IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi in alleged Rs 10L bribery case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoned all the drivers associated with vehicles of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Bishnupada Sethi as part of an investigation into an alleged bribery case involving Rs10 lakh.

This move is linked to the ongoing inquiry against Chanchal Mukherjee, the chief of ‘Bridge and Roof’ Company in Odisha. Chanchal along with contractors Santosh Maharana and Debadatta Mahapatra were arrested from a hotel in Bhubaneswar by the CBI. 

The trio was apprehended by the CBI on November 6 from outside a hotel in Bhubaneswar, as they were reportedly involved in the bribery transaction.

Mukherjee, Maharana and Mahapatra have been drawn into the investigation. The trio is currently under CBI remand and being interrogated for the second time.

“Sir, for the purpose of investigation of CBI case RC2172024A0017, the details such as name, address, contact no. including mobile nos. of all the drivers who are associated with vehicles of Sh. Bishnupada Sethi, IAS from all the departments headed by him are urgently required,” the CBI letter read.

“It is therefore, requested that the details may be provided at the earliest today itself and the drivers may be directed to join the CBI investigation at CBI ACB, office, Bhubaneswar,” it further added.

This case surfaces amidst continued scrutiny over government and corporate transparency, especially within infrastructure-related dealings. Efforts to reach Bishnupada Sethi for comments have been unsuccessful.