In a development that has sent shockwaves in government and regulatory circles in New Delhi and corporate circles in Mumbai, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a top aviation regulator official and a top corporate honcho.
Timesnownews.com Exclusively Accesses CBI FIR In DGCA Bribery Scandal
Now, Timesnownews.com has exclusively accessed the CBI FIR in the matter. The FIR makes for a shocking reading and lays open a can of worms at the country’s top civil aviation regulator, the DGCA. The FIR claims that the top DGCA official was routinely taking bribes for “Grant of Approvals & Permissions” from various private players, including from the Reliance Industries senior official, who was arrested alongside the government official.
DGCA’s key mandate includes enforcing international safety standards, licensing personnel and training private organisations. It also has the mandate of investigating incidents, and protecting passenger rights.
With such wide swathe of mandate, observers are concerned that corrupt practices could be endangering safety practices particularly in the arena of private charter flying an area which has been under sharp focus due to the recent death of Maharashtra’s Deputy CM Mr Ajit Pawar and multiple other crashes in the recent times.
The CBI FIR claims that at least three matters related to Asteria Aerospace were being handled by the DGCA and RIL’s top official was handling them on behalf of the company and bribe was being paid for each of these matters.
The three matters relate to the company’s applications for “Permissions” as per the FIR accessed by Timesnownews.com. The FIR is silent on the nature of the permissions being sought or the specific area in which the permissions were being sought by the company.
Interestingly, Asteria Aerospace is owned by a subsidiary of Reliance industries and deals in a crucial arena of “Aerial Intelligence”, i.e. it uses drone technology to gather “actionable intelligence” per the company’s own claims. The company is also engaged with sensitive defence sector of the country including the paramilitary forces which guard the country’s borders. In such a scenario, the arrest of the top DGCA official along with the key company man by the CBI raises some very critical questions which only a thorough probe can reveal.
Timesnownews.com has contacted Reliance Industries for a comment. The copy will be updated once a response is received.
Reliance Issues Statement
On Sunday, Reliance Industries issued a statement, saying the official arrested was engaged as a consultant. The company has denied knowledge of the transactions.
