Bhubaneswar: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested a professor of the Sambalpur University along with nine other prominent academicians across the country for allegedly bribing National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) inspection committee members to secure an A++ accreditation for a leading educational institution in Andhra Pradesh.

As part of the operation, the CBI sealed the residence of the accused professor, Bulu Maharana, at Jyoti Vihar in Sambalpur.

Among those arrested are the chairman and six members of a NAAC inspection committee, including a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), according to media reports.

The CBI registered a case and conducted searches across multiple locations, 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 stated.

The agency is carrying out searches at 20 locations across India, including Chennai, Bangalore, Vijayawada, Palamu, Sambalpur, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Gautam Budh Nagar, and New Delhi.

"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.

Further investigation by the agency was underway.