Key Points
KAPL Managing Director Anurag Danayak was arrested in Noida while allegedly receiving the first Rs 5 lakh installment of a Rs 15 lakh bribe.
The FIR, filed by Bhopal-based Harsh Kaushik, alleges Danayak demanded a 60% commission cut and threatened to block contract renewals and institutional allocations if unpaid.
CBI raids across Bengaluru, Noida, and Jabalpur recovered Rs 75 lakh in cash, Rs 4 lakh in foreign currency, and 697 grams of gold worth roughly Rs 86 lakh.
THE CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (CBI) has apprehended a high-ranking governmental official red-handed in the process of taking a bribe. On Wednesday, June 15, 2026, the CBI arrested Managing Director (MD) of Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KAPL) Anurag Danayak as he was allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 5 lakh in Noida. KAPL is a central public sector enterprise that manufactures and markets a wide range of affordable, life-saving, and essential drugs.
The agency found out that the total demanded bribe was Rs 15 lakh, of which Anurag was receiving the first installment at the time of his arrest.
The alleged bribery case involved the renewal of service agreements and allocation of business contracts. A first information report (FIR) was filed by Harsh Kaushik from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, operator of his pharmaceutical business Pharma Care. As per the FIR, the firm is an authorized service agent of the KAPL. Pharma Care procures medicines from KAPL and distributes them in government institutions.
Kaushik alleges that extra payment was demanded of him as part of renewal of his service agent contact with KAPL and allocation of additional institutions. As per the FIR, Anurag Danayak, Managing Director of KAPL, would repeatedly try to contact Kaushik via WhatsApp calls and demand a bribe — a 60% commission on the total sales that Kaushik’s firm Pharma Care made. Anurag further threatened Kaushik, warning that if he fails to pay the bribe then his firm will not be assigned any institution for sale of medicines, and that Pharma Care’s service agent agreement with KAPL will not be renewed.
A spokesperson for the investigative agency stated that after information was received about the possible bribe demand, CBI laid a trap to catch Anurag red-handed. He was arrested in Noida while receiving the bribe.
The CBI allege that the bribe was allegedly demanded in return for approving the service agent agreement of Pharma Care, clearing an application for assigning additional institutions to the firm (which were pending renewal for the current financial year), and as a cut on the commission earned by the firm from the sale of medicines during the current year.
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“The accused Managing Director had demanded an undue advantage of around Rs 15 lakhs from a Bhopal-based firm, which is an authorised service agent of KAPL and engaged in the supply of medicines to the Government institutions in the State of Madhya Pradesh,” stated the spokesperson.
After the CBI arrested Anurag Danayak, searches were conducted at his private residence and office premises in Bengaluru, Noida, and Jabalpur. The agency recovered Rs 75 lakh in cash and foreign currency worth of Rs 4 lakh, in addition to 697 grams of gold jewelry/coins worth Rs 86 lakh approximately and a property document of the residential flat of the accused.
The CBI has registered a case on this matter and is conducting further investigation to determine whether other individuals were involved in the bribery case. The bureau is examining documents found during the searches and verifying financial transactions connected to the accused.
(Proofread by Anshika Verma)
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