Ambuja Cements officer arrested for alleged attempted bribery in Chhattisgarh

Bhubaneswar: A chief manufacturing officer at Adani Group-backed Ambuja Cement in Chhattisgarh state has been arrested for allegedly attempting to bribe a government official, the vigilance directorate in neighbouring Odisha state said.

The officer, Rambhav Gattu, offered a flower bouquet and a packet of sweets - later found to contain Rs 2,00,000 in cash - to the collector of Odisha's Barghar region whose duties include taking in revenues, the directorate said in a statement on Wednesday.

A case has been registered against the officer for "attempting to induce a public servant", the statement added, without specifying what the offered money was in exchange for.

"The accused was arrested and forwarded to the court. Investigation of the case is in progress," it said.

Ambuja Cements and Adani Group did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Neither Gattu nor his representatives could immediately be reached.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led federal government has listed corruption as one of the practices it intends to eliminate, with Modi saying in July that he had given a "free hand" to central agencies to go after those engaged in corruption.