CBI arrests senior AAI officer while taking bribe

New Delhi: The CBI has arrested an executive director in the Airports Authority of India for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from the owner of an airports ground handling company, officials said on Wednesday.

G Ravichandran, Executive Director (Finance), had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 4 lakh for allotting tenders to the company – Bright Shine Services (BSS) – for 'D' category airports, they said.

Speaking to Millennium Post, officials said that CBI is conducting searches at official and private residences of the accused in Delhi and Chennai. They added that these searches have resulted in the recovery of some incriminating documents and investigation is going on. An official investigating the case said that V. Venkatesh, CEO of BSS informed about Ravichandran to the country's premier investigative agency after the accused came to Chennai on March 13 to demand a bribe for allotting the tender to his company.

Venkatesh, in a letter to CBI, said that he did not want to pay the bribe and further requested for legal action against him. Following this, CBI sleuths managed to arrange a meeting between the two on March 17 in the presence of an independent witness. This meeting in Delhi was recorded and revealed that Ravichandran gave assurances to Venkatesh about awarding his company the tender.

During a second meeting on March 19, Ravichandran is heard asking for Rs 10 lakh bribe per airport. Subsequently, Ravichandran demanded Rs 4 lakh to be paid as advance the next day, when CBI caught him and charged him u/s 7 of the PC Act.