The CBI on Friday arrested the chairman and managing director of National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco), A.K. Srivastava, and his wife for allegedly accepting bribes. Two of their accomplices were also arrested.
The agency officials conducted raids at Mr Srivastava’s office in Delhi and Bhubaneswar. The agency officials have so far recovered 10.18 kg of gold (worth `2.43 crores) and `30 lakhs in cash from the lockers of the accused persons. The other two accomplices, who have been arrested, are Bhushan Lal Bajaj (middle man) and his wife. Nalco happens to a one of the Central public sector Navratna companies. According to the sources, Mr Srivastava got his wife to accept an illegal gratification of three gold bricks, each weighing one kg of 24-carat gold. His wife had allegedly accepted this illegal gratification from the wife of middleman (Bhushan Lal Bajaj, who was brokering a deal between the CMD and a MP-based private Group of Companies, sources said.
Sources further said that they were caught when the wife of CMD of Nalco, accompanied by the wife of middleman, deposited three gold bricks in a bank locker in a New Delhi branch of Bank of Maharashtra. The bank locker in question was in the name of the wife of middleman, but was being operated by the CMD’s wife as benami”. A search of this locker resulted in further recovery of seven more gold bricks of one kg each, gold ornaments weighing 188 grams and `9.5 lakhs in cash, sources said. A personal search of the CMD’s wife also led to recovery of `5 lakhs in cash from her handbag. Further, a key to another locker in the name of the middleman’s wife was also recovered. Subsequent, search of the second locker led to recovery of `15 lakhs in cash. Thus, the total recoveries so far have been 10.188 grams of gold and `30 lakhs of cash, the overall value of which comes to approximately `2 crores.