News: Jamia Prof who certified Chintels Paradiso’s safety arrested for ₹1 lakh bribe-16-03-2022
CBI said the Jamia professor was caught red-handed as he accepted a ₹1 lakh bribe from an architect to issued structural stability certificates.
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested a professor of Jamia Millia Islamia University who, in connivance with private builders, architects and middlemen, was issuing structural stability certificates for their projects in lieu of bribes, the investigating agency said.
Investigations have revealed that the professor, identified as Mohammad Khalid Moin, from the department of civil engineering at Jamia, had also issued the structural stability certificate for Gurugram’s Chintels Paradiso housing complex as well, where multiple ceilings of a tower collapsed on February 10, killing two women.
To be sure, Moin has not been arrested for the Chintels Paradiso collapse but in a separate bribery case filed by the central agency.
CBI officials said a trap was laid on Wednesday and Moin was arrested when he allegedly accepted ₹1 lakh from two persons - Prakhar Pawar of Vyom Architect in Okhla Phase-3 and Abid Khan, an employee of Vyom Architect.
“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,” a statement by CBI spokesperson RC Joshi said.
CBI officials were carrying out raids at Moin’s residence till late evening on Wednesday.
The probe team found ₹30 lakh cash and documents related to ₹1.2 crore in his bank accounts so far apart from several documents related to builders etc, said an official familiar with the development.
Ceiling slabs of a portion of six flats collapsed on February 10 at Chintels Paradiso, killing two residents. Two FIRs have been registered in the case. In one of the FIRs registered by district town planner RS Bhath, it has been alleged that licensee, the structural engineer and the contractors are solely responsible for the incident.
The Supreme Court earlier this month issued notices to the Haryana government, the state’s department of town and country planning (DTCP), real estate firm Chintels India and others on a petition filed by a Class 11 student whose mother was killed in the incident.
