MUMBAI, Feb. 16 -- Six officials of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) have been booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly clearing bogus bills raised by a contractor, in a scam estimated at Rs.24.19 crore. The project relates to the construction of a high-altitude, 15.32-km road in Arunachal Pradesh. Three others, all of them associated with the Nagpur-based contractor, have also been booked in the case. The contractor's firm had allegedly raised false bills after partially completing the road in a contract awarded by NHIDCL. The payments were made between 2021 and 2023. The contract, for the construction of a road from Doginala to Gau in Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh, is estimated at Rs.121 crore. The regional office of NHIDCL in Itanagar had reported that 17.81% of the physical and 17.53% of the financial progress of the work had allegedly been completed by end-December 2022. Accordingly, Rs.24.19 crore was paid to the contractor, according to CBI officials. The contractor was subsequently awarded a contract to build a Bailey Suspension Bridge worth Rs.5.10 crore in December 2023 as it was required for the road project. But the contractor allegedly failed to meet deadlines and the contract was terminated by NHIDCL in August 2024, the officials said. On February 4, 2026, the CBI registered a First Information Report (FIR) against six NHIDCL officials (S Kumar, P Gairola, V Avasti, P Kumar, A Deb and A Kumar) and the contractor firm's director S Patil, and its authorised signatories T Tado and A Kumar, and unknown persons. The case was registered under sections relating to criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Code. The FIR alleged that the trio associated with the contractor's firm allegedly conspired with the accused NHIDCL officials to raise false bills amounting to Rs.24.19 crore based on false claims relating to work on the project. Payments were made based on an alleged false inspection report submitted by the accused NHIDCL officials, and a final recommendation for payment of the contractor's bills despite knowledge that the work had not been not executed as claimed by the contractor, by another accused official....