Bengaluru: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested Rajaram Mohanrao Chennu, Joint Director of the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), Bengaluru, in connection with an alleged bribery case involving ₹9.5 lakh, officials said.
Following the arrest, the agency conducted searches at Chennu’s residence and recovered a large cache of cash amounting to more than ₹3.59 crore. The searches also led to the seizure of foreign currency worth over ₹4 lakh, including US Dollars, Hong Kong Dollars, Singapore Dollars, Indonesian Rupiah, Malaysian Ringgit, Euros, Chinese Yuan, Swedish Krona and UAE Dirhams.
According to the CBI, Chennu was allegedly involved in corrupt practices and accepted bribes in return for issuing favourable test reports for electrical equipment manufactured by a private firm, Sudhir Group of Companies.
The agency has also arrested Atul Khanna, a director of the private company, in connection with the case.
In an official statement, a CBI spokesperson said that after registering an FIR, the agency laid a trap and caught the CPRI joint director along with an executive of the private company while allegedly exchanging the bribe amount of ₹9.5 lakh on January 9, 2026, in Bengaluru.
The spokesperson added that searches conducted so far have resulted in the recovery of approximately ₹3.76 crore in cash, including foreign currency, and further searches are still underway.
The investigation into the alleged bribery network and the source of the seized funds is continuing.
