NEW DELHI, Jan 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has apprehended a senior officer from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a cable operator in Himachal Pradesh, officials reported on Friday.
The accused, Narender Singh Rawat, who holds the position of senior research officer at TRAI, purportedly demanded the bribe from a licensee of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to expedite compliance matters concerning cable services in Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh.
Additionally, Rawat allegedly requested the operator to facilitate bribes on behalf of five other licensed cable operators in the state, which would secure favorable assessments of regulatory documents, including quarterly performance reports.
The bribe was intended to ensure the non-recommendation for the cancellation of their licenses to the ministry, the agency stated.
A spokesperson for the CBI remarked, “According to TRAI guidelines, these cable operators are obligated to submit their quarterly performance reports to the accused, who then determines whether to accept them or recommend the cancellation of their licenses in case of any discrepancies.”
Following preliminary investigations, the CBI executed a sting operation and caught Rawat in the act, accepting the Rs 1 lakh bribe in his office in Delhi, as per the agency’s statement.
The CBI also conducted searches at Rawat’s residential and official locations in Greater Noida and New Delhi.
(PTI)
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