CBI court sentences former BSNL officers to 4 years RI in bribery case

Jaipur, July 10 (IANS) A special CBI court in Jaipur has sentenced two former Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) officials from Bharatpur -- Rajesh Kumar Bansal, the then Telecom District Manager, and M.L. Bansal, a retired Junior Accounts Officer, to four years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in connection with a bribery case, officials said on Thursday.

Both the accused persons have also been fined Rs 50,000 each, officials added.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered the case on April 6, 2017.

It was alleged that Rajesh Kumar Bansal demanded a bribe of Rs 1.2 lakh through co-accused M.L. Bansal from a contractor for releasing a pending payment of nearly Rs 60 lakh related to tender work.

Following the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught Rajesh Kumar Bansal red-handed while accepting Rs 1,00,000 in bribe, in the presence of M.L. Bansal.

The cash was recovered from Bansal's possession during the operation.

Subsequently, the agency filed a charge sheet against both the accused on September 22, 2017, after a thorough investigation.

After reviewing the evidence, the Special CBI Court found both officers guilty of corruption charges.

The court observed that the accused had misused their official positions for personal gain, betraying public trust.

Both the accused were convicted under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and were sentenced on July 9, 2025.

The case highlights the CBI's continued efforts to curb corruption in public offices and ensure accountability among government officials.

Officials said that the BSNL telecom district manager and the former junior account officer were arrested in 2017 for accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to clear bills of a contractor.

CBI sleuths said that Rajesh Kumar Bansal was nabbed along with his middleman and former BSNL junior account officer, M.L. Bansal from Bharatpur where they were caught accepting the bribe money.

"We had received a complaint from a cable contractor, Sukhbeer Singh Sinsinwar that Rajesh Kumar Bansal had been demanding a bribe of Rs 1 lakh for clearing his outstanding bills of Rs 60 lakh. The telecom district manager had deputed M.L. Bansal as his middleman to negotiate," a CBI official told media persons in 2017.

The CBI slueths after verification of Sinsinwar's complaint laid a trap at Bharatpur quarters of Bansal and caught him red-handed.

"Both Rajesh Bansal and M.L. Bansal were brought to Jaipur for further questioning and were booked under specific charges of Prevention of Corruption Act," the CBI official said, adding that contractor had laid a fibre optic cable for which he was seeking the clearance of his bills.

"Bansal was initially demanding a bribe of Rs 1.2 lakh but after initial bargaining the price was settled at Rs 1 lakh," the official said.

--IANS

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