CBI Arrests Assistant Labour Commissioner In Puducherry For ₹1 Lakh Bribe Linked To NHAI Projected

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an Assistant Labour Commissioner (Central) from the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, posted in Puducherry, along with a private individual, in connection with a bribery case.

The agency registered a case on August 21, 2025, against the officer, three personnel of a private company, a private intermediary, and other unidentified persons. The Assistant Labour Commissioner allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹1 lakh through a private person from the company, which had undertaken a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) road contract in Trichy. The company had applied for two labour licences with the Puducherry office, and its payment was pending with NHAI due to the absence of the required licences.

CBI officials intercepted the officer and the intermediary soon after the demand. During the operation, ₹1 lakh in cash was recovered from the office chamber of the Assistant Labour Commissioner. Both accused were arrested and produced before the Puducherry court, which remanded them to judicial custody until September 4, 2025.

Following the arrests, CBI teams conducted searches at the official and residential premises of the arrested officer in Puducherry, as well as at the private company’s premises in Theni, Tamil Nadu. The searches led to the recovery of incriminating documents. A parallel search at the native place of the accused officer in Rajasthan is still underway.