Two AICTE officials and three college owners in Bhilai-Durg have been sentenced to three years imprisonment for accepting bribes to grant recognition to private engineering and polytechnic colleges against the law. In a significant development, two officials from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the owners of three colleges in Bhilai Durg have been handed three-year prison sentences for their involvement in a bribery scandal. The case, which has been going on for 11 years, finally reached its conclusion when Special Judge Mamta Patel of the Special Court Trial of CBI Cases in Raipur pronounced the sentences on Tuesday.

 

The accused individuals were apprehended by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) while accepting bribe money in a hotel in Durg. The court’s decision, detailed in a 91-page judgment, stipulates that all sentences will run concurrently. Among the convicted individuals were Professor Pushya Mishra, also known as PM, from the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology in Bhopal, who served as the director of AICTE’s MP-CG Central Zone. Sanjay Soni, an Assistant Professor from the same institution, was a member of the Expert Visiting Committee responsible for inspecting and granting recognition to colleges, acting under the instructions of PM Mishra. AICTE plays a crucial role in recognising private engineering and polytechnic colleges across the country. In May 2012, Sanjay and his team conducted inspections of colleges in Raipur, Durg, and Bhilai and lodged at The Avalon hotel in Durg. Following these inspections, Sanjay allegedly demanded bribes from the owners of 12 colleges in violation of the law. Three local residents, Praveen Vishwakarma, Sanjeev Khullar, and Sushil Chandrakar, who had applied for college recognition, collected money from other college owners and handed it over to Sanjay. Subsequently, a complaint was filed with the CBI, leading to a raid on The Avalon hotel.

 

During the raid, CBI seized 12 gold biscuits and Rs 11.71 lakh in cash from Sanjay. Sanjay, Praveen, Sanjeev, and Sushil were all arrested and interrogated, which eventually led to the arrest of director PM Mishra in Bhopal. After a few months, all the accused were released on bail, and the case remained pending in the Raipur CBI court until Tuesday’s sentencing. The court has imposed fines of Rs 15,000 each on PM and Sanjay, and Rs 5,000 each on the remaining three individuals. Furthermore, the seized amount has been confiscated. The punishments have been issued under different sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, but they will all be served concurrently