Mumbai, July 10 (Reporter) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted raids in Maharashtra over alleged corruption allegations against officials of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur, officials said here on Wednesday. Following a complaint filed by the Chief Vigilance Officer, CSIR, New Delhi, against 10 people, including former scientists and senior officials, the CBI registered three separate cases. The raids were carried out at various locations in Maharashtra, which include Nagpur, Mumbai,Thane, Thane, and New Mumbai, Mumbai, from which which the CBI recovered incriminating documents, property-related papers, jewelry, and other things, said the central probe agency. In the first case, the CBI has named: Dr Rakesh Kumar, the then Director of CSIR-CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur; Dr Atya Kapley, ex-ex-Senior Scientist and and Head, Director’s Research Cell; entities Alaknanda Technologies Pvt Ltd., in Navi Mumbai; Enviro Policy Research India Pvt Ltd., Thane; and Emergy Enviro Pvt Ltd., IIT-Bombay at Powai in Mumbai. The two accused allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with the private firms to set up a cartel with collusive bidding, splitting of tenders and works in return for undue advantage, and nepotism, whereby the NEERI’s contracts were mostly awarded to the Powai-based unit. For the second case, the CBI has named: Dr Rakesh Kumar, the then Director, NEERI, Nagpur; Dr. Ritesh Vijay, the then Principal Scientist; and Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council-India (WTERT-India), Dadar in Mumbai. The accused individuals and the entity allegedly connived to get favors from the company in 2018–2019, which was selected arbitrarily without the consent of the CSIR top authorities, and Dr. Kumar was associated with the company in 2015–2016. They allegedly hatched a criminal conspiracy for major irregularities in procurement, fabrication, supply, installation, and commissioning of Wayu-II devices, a patented-proprietary property of NEERI, with attempts to create a monopoly for the two companies, bypass norms, etc. for undue advantage. The CBI said it is continuing investigations into the cases involving allegations of malpractice and corruption against the concerned individuals and companies...////...