A Lieutenant Colonel and a middleman were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with an alleged transfer racket at the Army headquarter in New Delhi, PTI reported on Saturday. Army officers allegedly paid lakhs of rupees to get a post of their liking, the report added.

Lt Colonel Ranganathan Suvramani Moni of the personnel division at the Army headquarters

and Gaurav Kohli were arrested by the CBI, which had received intel reports that an alleged bribe of Rs 2 lakh was being paid for transfer of a Bengaluru-based army officer. A case has also been registered against Moni, an Army officer named Purushottam, who is based in Hyderabad, Kohli and S Subhas, the BSO Bengaluru of the Indian Army. The officers have been charged with criminal conspiracy, the demand and acceptance of illegal gratification and using influence over public servants, reported India Today.

A Brigadier’s name was also included in the FIR, but he was not on the list of accused. The CBI FIR alleged that bribes were being paid through hawala channels. Senior officials were allegedly involved in the transfer racket suspected to be going on at the Army headquarters. The agency is also investigating how the officers were managing to pay lakhs of rupees for a posting of their choice.

According to the CBI, Purshottam would contact the Army officers, posted in different field formation or facing imminent transfer, desirous of posting at different locations, and then contacted Gaurav Kohli, who had close acquaintance with many officers posted in the personnel division of the Army headquarters, for pursuing the transfer of these officials.