The CBI conducted searches at 25 locations in connection with an FIR registered against 21 BSNL officials, including a former general manager, officials said.

The premier investigative agency alleged that the accused officials entered into a conspiracy with a contractor to cheat the government-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

The CBI registered the FIR against officials of BSNL Assam Circle, including a former general manager, deputy general manager, assistant general manager, and chief accounts officer in Jorhat, Sibsagar, Guwahati and other places, they said.

The FIR also mentions the name of a private person, officials said.

“It was alleged that the contractor was given a work order for laying National Optical Fibre Network Cable through open trenching method at Rs 90,000 per km,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

“It was also alleged that later on, the contractor made different pleas, including no right of way from the owner of private land, to convert the open trenching method to horizontal directional drilling method at Rs 2.30 lakh per km in spite of the provision of the right of way, easement clause in the contract, thereby violated tender clause and caused loss of Rs 22 crore (approximately) to the BSNL,” the official said.

After the registration of the FIR recently, the CBI on Friday conducted searches at 25 locations, including the offices and residences of the accused in Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Haryana, he said.