Sambalpur: The Sambalpur University has reportedly suspended professor Bulu Maharana after his arrest by the CBI in the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) bribery case.

Maharana, a faculty of the Library Science department of the university, was a part of the six-member team that had gone to inspect an educational institution in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

The central agency has so far arrested 10 persons for allegedly receiving bribe to secure an A++ accreditation for the institution.

A CBI team had searched Maharana's office room in the university and his residence located at Jyoti Vihar here, during which the investigators found various incriminating documents.

The CBI had registered a case and conducted searches across multiple locations in the country, uncovering evidence of "alleged undue advantages" provided to the NAAC inspection team. These bribes reportedly included cash, gold, mobile phones, and laptops, a CBI spokesperson said.

"An amount of Rs 37 lakh in cash, six Lenovo laptops, one iPhone 16 Pro mobile phone, and other incriminating materials have been recovered," the spokesperson added.