The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested Munitions India Limited Executive Director Anil Kumar and two others in a bribery case linked to alleged illegal gratification for official favours, with approximately ₹2.23 crore in cash recovered during searches in Pune, Mysuru, Bengaluru and Delhi.
The arrests took place on October 13, a day after the CBI registered the case against Kumar, who was posted as Executive Director at Munitions India’s Pune operations. The agency identified the other arrested individuals as Ashish Kansal, CEO and Director-Promoter of SMPP Limited, and B. Harshavardhan, Kumar’s brother.
According to an official CBI press release cited in the report, approximately ₹1.73 crore in cash was recovered during searches at premises linked to Kumar in Pune. Searches at locations connected with the accused in Mysuru, Bengaluru and Delhi resulted in the recovery of around ₹50 lakh in cash, along with documents described as incriminating by the agency.
The CBI has alleged that Kumar acted in connivance with certain private contractors and vendors and demanded and accepted illegal gratification in exchange for extending official favours. The agency has not described the alleged favours in further detail in the information supplied in the report. The allegations remain subject to the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings.
The case has brought a defence public sector undertaking headquartered in Pune into the focus of a corruption investigation. Munitions India Limited operates under the Ministry of Defence and is wholly owned by the Government of India. The company was formed in 2021 when the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board was corporatised and divided into seven defence public sector undertakings.
Munitions India manufactures ammunition, explosives, rockets, bombs and related products for the Indian Armed Forces, paramilitary forces and export markets. It operates 12 manufacturing units across India. The company’s role places procurement, contracting and administrative decisions within a wider public-sector defence production system, although the CBI’s supplied statement does not specify which contract, vendor or official decision is at the centre of the alleged bribery case.
The Pune recovery forms the largest reported portion of the cash seized in the searches. The additional searches across Mysuru, Bengaluru and Delhi indicate that the investigation extends beyond the official’s workplace and residence-linked locations, but the CBI has not publicly stated in the supplied material how the recovered documents and cash are connected to specific transactions.
The CBI said its investigation is continuing. Further details, including the alleged transaction, the contractors or vendors involved, and the next legal steps against the three arrested individuals, are expected to emerge as the investigation progresses.
