CBI arrests Kendriya Vidyalaya principal, middleman in Rs 3 lakh bribery case

The CBI has arrested a Kendriya Vidyalaya principal in Madhya Pradesh's Itarsi and a middleman for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 3 lakh to clear pending bills for renovation work at the school, officials said on Friday.

The case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act following allegations that principal Shradda Pathak had demanded the bribe to process an Rs 8 lakh bill for renovation work awarded to Bhopal-based firms through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, they said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation laid a trap and caught Pathak and the alleged middleman, Kirat Singh Sarathe, while they were purportedly accepting the money, an official said.

Following the arrests, the agency conducted searches at the accused persons' residences and official premises in Itarsi and Agra.

Property-related documents were seized during the searches, the official said, adding that further investigation into the alleged corruption case was underway.