NEW DELHI, India: India’s federal investigators have arrested an official from the country’s aviation regulator and an executive linked to a major corporate group over alleged bribery tied to drone import approvals, in a case that has drawn attention to oversight challenges in the sector.
According to Reuters, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the arrests were made following allegations that a deal had been struck to clear regulatory applications in exchange for payments.
The agency identified the accused as Mudavath Devula, a deputy director general at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and Bharat Mathur, a senior vice president associated with Reliance Industries.
Investigators said the case centres on approvals for importing drones by Asteria Aerospace, a subsidiary of Jio Platforms. Authorities allege that an amount of 1.5 million rupees was agreed upon to process three applications.
Public servant
The CBI said it launched the probe based on an “allegation that the accused public servant of DGCA demanded undue advantage from the private persons in lieu of issuing approvals and permissions of applications pending with DGCA.”
During the operation, officials recovered cash and valuables from multiple locations, including 250,000 rupees at the time of arrest and additional sums along with gold and silver coins during follow-up searches.
A spokesperson for Reliance said, “Mathur was engaged as a consultant. We are not aware of any transaction involving him of the nature being referred to, nor have we approved any such unauthorised transaction.”
The investigation comes at a sensitive time as India’s drone sector expands and as Jio Platforms prepares for a potential stock market listing, highlighting the importance of regulatory transparency.
