Jamia Civil Engineering prof held for taking bribes to issue structural stability certificates
New Delhi: The CBI has arrested Khalid Moin, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering of Jamia Millia Islamia, in connection with a Rs 1-lakh bribery case, officials said Wednesday, adding that the professor had been accused of issuing structural stability certificates to various projects after taking bribes.
Significantly, Moin is alleged to have been the one who had issued the structural stability certificate to the Chintels Paradiso apartment complex in Gurugram, where the roof in a building collapsed last month — killing two residents living on the floors below and injuring one other man seriously.
While the Chintels Paradiso case is being probed by the local police and the district administration in Gurugram, the Central Bureau of Investigation said it had arrested Moin in a separate case, where two accused from a prominent Delhi-based architecture firm — VYOM Architect — have also been arrested.
The CBI also arrested Prakhar Pawar of M/s Vyom Architect, and Abid Khan, who the company's website identifies as a member of their legal team. Searches were being conducted at the premises of the accused, CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said.
According to a Jamia Millia Islamia source, "The university has not got anything to do with the matter. It was his personal consultancy-related matter. The CBI team didn't seek or share any details with the university. They interrogated him at his office in the university and also went to his house to collect some documents."
The source said that professors, specifically from the civil engineering department, are involved in consultancy work. The arrested accused will be produced before a designated court in Delhi.
During the searches, the CBI has recovered Rs 30 lakh in cash and bank account details having funds of Rs 1.19 crore, agency officials said.
"A case was registered against the accused on the allegations that the said professor in conspiracy with the representatives of different private builders, architect, middleman, etc. was indulging in different activities for issuing structural stability certificates for the projects after taking bribe," Joshi said.
After getting information about one such alleged bribe exchange, the CBI laid a trap and caught the professor along with two others, he said.
Significantly, VYOM Architect, based in Okhla here, has several big-ticket clients both in the private and government sector — including ones like the NBCC, CPWD, Airports Authority of India, and Godrej, Samsung and LG among several others.
(With PTI inputs)
