Bhubaneswar: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today arrested three persons in connection with the seizure of cash from a luxury vehicle in the Odisha capital here yesterday.

The CBI officials from Delhi had seized around Rs 10 lakh from a luxury (Mercedes) vehicle bearing registration no. OD-O5-BV-9999 near Mayfair Hotel in the capital city here yesterday evening.

The CBI sleuths had detained the occupants of the car for questioning soon after the cash seizure.

The CBI today arrested special class contractor Debadatta Mahapatra, contractor Santosh Maharana and Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited’s Group General Manager Chanchal Mukherjee in connection with the cash seizure.

The trio was allegedly involved in tender fixing and other irregularities, sources said.

According to the CBI, Mukherjee had sought Rs 10 lakh as bribe from Mahapatra. The central agency laid a trap to catch Mukherjee red-handed while accepting the bribe money.

Mahapatra and Maharana had brought the cash to bribe Mukherjee yesterday. The entire bribe money has been recovered from the accused persons, said the CBI in a statement.

Later, the three accused were produced in a Special CBI court here. The court allowed the CBI to take the accused on remand for three days.

In a related development, the CBI conducted simultaneous raids at 11 places across the country, including Delhi, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, in connection with tender fixing and other irregularities at the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, a central PSU.

The sleuths of the central agency also raided Mahapatra’s residence and seized cash, gold and some incriminating documents, sources added.