New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) The Road and Transport Ministry Monday tried to steer itself out of the controversy around the sanction to prosecute one of its officers, saying the matter has been pending with the Central Vigilance Commission since May.

In a statement, the ministry said it has already granted the sanction to prosecute Akil Ahmad, arrested by the CBI in a Rs 20-lakh bribery case, and the same was conveyed to the anti-corruption watchdog CVC on May 5.

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The ministry's statement came after the Central Bureau of Investigation on July 1 sought one more month from a special court to submit the sanction to prosecute Ahmad on record.

Detailing the events into the case, the ministry said the CBI had sent the request to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on February 28 seeking sanction to prosecute Ahmad, who was posted on deputation at the NHAI when he was arrested.

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"The NHAI repatriated the officer to this Ministry vide Order dated March 23, 2022 and forwarded the request of CBI for necessary action to this Ministry vide their letter dated April 01, 2022," the statement from the ministry's Deputy Secretary (vigilance) Ramavtar Meena said.

The ministry after taking sanction from Minister Road Transport and Highways, the competent authority to accord the sanction, conveyed it to the Commission (CVC) on May 5.

The Commission has desired some additional information/documents vide their OMs dated May 31, 2022 and June 24, 2022 which have been provided to the Commission immediately on June 13, 2022 and June 30, 2022 respectively. Hence, it is evident that the matter is pending with CVC and there is no delay on the part of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways," it said.

The CBI had told the court on July 1 that the issue related to sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Ahmad is under process and "shall be received within a month or so".

"In the interest of justice, one more opportunity is granted in terms of previous orders with the directions to submit the same on record positively on or before the NDOH (Next Date of Hearing)," Special Judge Anil Antil had said in its order on July 1.

Between March 16 and July 1, the special court had made observations in four orders that sanction of prosecution has not been received and had asked the agency to expedite the same.

Ahmad, posted as regional manager in NHAI, had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from Dilip Buildcon Private Limited on December 30, 2021 with respect to "Chennai Expressway Package 1 and 2” being constructed by the company in Karnataka, officials had said.

Executive Director Devendra Jain had sanctioned the payment of the bribe to Ahmad which was to be delivered through one Anuj Gupta using hawala channel, the FIR had alleged.

The agency had kept the accused under surveillance, they had said.

The CBI had conducted a trap proceeding on December 31, 2021 during which a black colour bag lying beneath the table of the office of Gupta carrying Rs 20 lakh cash was recovered.

Following the recovery, the CBI arrested Ahmed from Bengaluru. It collected voice samples of the accused to match with its interception records and also seized WhatsApp exchanges between them, they said.

The agency has alleged that Rs 4 lakh in cash was recovered from Ahmad's premises during searches while another Rs 50 lakh in cash and four kg gold bars and jewellery estimated to be around Rs 2.20 crore were seized during the inspection of lockers on January 4, 2022.

The agency has filed a charge sheet against all the accused.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)