For further investigation on the Louis Berger scam, a squad of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrived in Guwahati on Wednesday evening.
This is the investigating agency's second visit to the State after the Gauhati High Court had in September 2017 ordered it to take up the corruption case on the basis of a public interest litigation filed by Bhaben Handique, an RTI activist and convener of rights group Swaraj Asom.
The CBI had taken up the case by filing a 40-page FIR against unknown officials in the alleged scam, and a team took statements from the petitioners and officials a month later.
It may be mentioned that at the time when the Louis Berger project was taken, Himanta Biswa Sarma was in Congress and his ministry was directly involved in the execution of project.
However, in the FIR by CBI, it doesn't name any accused or suspects.
The US justice department in 2015 revealed that Louis Berger International Inc had admitted to involvement of its employees in paying over Rs 6 crore in bribes between 1998 and 2010 for securing consultancy of water supply projects in Guwahati and Goa.
