New Delhi: CBI Tuesday arrested Registrar of Companies Chennai for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from a noted industrialist M A M Ramaswamy who has been accused of bribing the official in connection with a meeting of his corporate group on Wednesday.
CBI officials arrested Manuneethi Cholan, RoC, but did not take the 83-year-old industrialist, a former MP, in view of his age, the agency sources said.
Earlier CBI had said that Ramaswamy was also arrested but later officials clarified that he was not arrested.
"The bribe was allegedly paid to declare the proceedings of Annual General Body Meeting, scheduled tomorrow, null and void. The meeting was purportedly aimed at removing the industrialist from the Chairmanship of the companies owned by him," CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad said here today.
According to CBI, the RoC had demanded a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from Ramaswamy, Chairman, Chettinad Group of Companies, not to accept the decision that may be taken by a rebel faction within the management in order to take control of the Group of companies during Annual General Meeting to be held tomorrow.
CBI alleged that after Cholan received the bribe amount, his vehicle was intercepted by CBI and the money was recovered from him. The car in which the official was travelling has also been seized.
Searches were conducted at the official and residential premises of Cholan from where CBI claimed to have recovered unaccounted cash of Rs 20 lakh. Searches were also conducted at Chettinad House in Rajah Annamalaipuram in Chennai from where computers and laptops were seized, the CBI sources said.
A case under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC, Section 7 (bribery), Section 12 and Section 13 (2) (crminal misconduct) of Prevention of Corruption Act against Cholan and Ramaswamy has been registered.
