CBI arrests DGCA official, Corporate executive in ₹2.5 lakh drone import bribery case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a senior aviation regulator and a corporate executive in a ₹2.5 lakh bribery case linked to drone imports, officials said on Sunday, highlighting alleged corruption in the approval process for emerging aerospace technologies.

In a coordinated operation on Saturday, the agency arrested M Devula , Deputy Director General at the Airworthiness Directorate of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), along with Bharat Mathur , a senior vice president of a major corporate group and a representative linked to Asteria Aerospace Ltd.

According to investigators, Devula allegedly demanded undue advantage from private entities in exchange for clearing applications related to the import of drones for a private aerospace firm. The CBI has registered a case under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 against both individuals and the company.

The FIR states that Mathur had approached Devula on March 18 regarding the status of pending drone import applications. Subsequent discussions allegedly led to an agreement of ₹5 lakh per file as a bribe to expedite approvals. The agency further alleged that Devula instructed Mathur to deliver the illegal payment at a location near IIT Delhi on April 18.

Acting on inputs, the CBI caught the accused during the exchange of ₹2.5 lakh , recovering the entire amount. Searches conducted across four locations in Delhi led to the seizure of ₹37 lakh in cash , along with gold and silver coins and multiple digital devices. Earlier reports indicated that Mathur, as a senior executive in a major corporate group, had allegedly sought to facilitate drone imports by bribing a DGCA official, reinforcing the agency’s claims of a broader nexus between regulatory authorities and private entities.

Notably, the parent corporate group of Asteria Aerospace has not been named as an accused in the FIR. There was no immediate response from the company or the corporate group.

The case underscores increasing scrutiny over regulatory clearances in India’s rapidly expanding drone and aerospace sector , where timely approvals are critical for operations.