The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a major operation, conducting searches at 25 locations, as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged fraud case involving 21 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) officials in Assam, including a former general manager.

The premier investigative agency has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused officials of BSNL Assam Circle, including a deputy general manager, assistant general manager, and chief accounts officer in various locations such as Jorhat, Sivasagar, Guwahati, and others.

According to the CBI, the accused officials are suspected of colluding with a contractor to deceive the government-run BSNL. The investigation alleges that a conspiracy was formed, whereby the officials granted a work order to the contractor for laying National Optical Fibre Network Cable through the open trenching method at a rate of Rs 90,000 per Kilometre.

However, it is alleged that the contractor later made various pleas, claiming a lack of right of way from the owner of private land, and proposed converting the open trenching method to the horizontal directional drilling method at an escalated rate of Rs 2.30 lakh per kilometre.

This conversion, despite provisions for the right of way and easement clause in the contract, is said to have violated the tender clause and resulted in an approximate loss of Rs 22 crore to BSNL.

The CBI spokesperson stated, "After the registration of the FIR recently, the CBI conducted searches at 25 locations, including the offices and residences of the accused in Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Haryana."

The investigation is focused on gathering evidence related to the alleged fraud, and further action will be taken based on the findings.