CBI arrests NEHU professor for bribery

The CBI has arrested an associate professor of North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Meghalaya for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a student pursuing Ph.D under him, the agency said on Tuesday.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team laid a trap and caught the professor red-handed on Monday while accepting the illegal gratification following the complaint of the student. He has been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The professor, Dinesh Bhatia, head of the Bio Medical Engineering Department, was on Tuesday produced before a Special CBI judge in Shillong who remanded him to judicial custody.

The central probe agency also conducted raids at Bhatia's office as well as his residential premises at Shillong which led to the recovery of certain documents and articles, said a CBI official.

"It was alleged that the illegal gratification was the proceeds of fake bills sanctioned by Dinesh Bhatia which were transferred to the bank account of the complainant. On the instructions of the professor, the complainant had withdrawn cash for handing it over to him," he added.