Bribery charge: CBI arrests 2 ESIC officials in Pondy

The arrested were identified as Mohit Jha, social security officer and Paras Gregory Khalkho, deputy director. A case was registered initially against Jha based on a complaint. It was alleged that the ESIC had issued a recovery notice to the complainant’s company for pending dues since January 2020, amounting to Rs 8.51 lakh along with interest. It was further alleged that, during July 2021, the accused contacted the bank and asked them not to allow operations in the said account.

When the complainant met the accused, the latter demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000 for himself and also in the name of the deputy director to de-freeze the account till the disposal of the matter in the court.

The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused while demanding and accepting the bribe of Rs 25,000 from the complainant. Searches were conducted at two locations in Puducherry and documents were recovered.

Both the arrested accused were produced before a court and the two were remanded in judicial custody till August 12.