Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A woman employee of the AYUSH Department has been accused of taking a bribe of ₹1.25 crore from a company to help secure a ₹60 crore tender on Sunday.

When the company failed to get the contract, it demanded its money back, but the employee refused to return it. This led to the company filing a complaint, and an FIR has now been registered against the woman for fraud at Bilkhiriya Police Station.

According to Station In-Charge Umesh Singh, Dharmveer Singh Sengar, a resident of Bilkhiriya and owner of Sengar Security Services, had filed the complaint. He alleged that in 2023, the AYUSH Department announced a ₹60 crore tender for recruiting 3,500 outsourced employees.

Pragati Srivastava, an employee of the department, promised to help the company secure the tender, claiming she had strong connections within the department.

Initially, ₹15 lakh was transferred to Pragati's bank account on August 14, 2023. Later, on October 11, Dharmveer handed over ₹1.10 crore in cash to Pragati in the presence of two witnesses.

However, the department canceled the tender in January 2024, and Dharmveer demanded his money back. Pragati refused to return the money and started delaying.

Police began their investigation two months ago and recently filed a case against Pragati under fraud charges. Officials are now probing her political connections, as Pragati is said to have significant influence due to frequent visits from local politicians to her residence in Baghmugaliya.

Previously, Pragati had helped Dharmveer recover a stalled payment from a government hospital in Mandla by charging a commission of ₹3 lakh.

Impressed by her connections, Dharmveer had approached her for the larger tender. Pragati has been working in the AYUSH Department on an outsourced basis for nine years, and her husband, Chandraprakash Srivastava, is a contractor.

The investigation continues, and authorities are looking into how Pragati's influence played a role in the tender process.