Pune: The ministry of defence on Friday suspended Munitions India Limited (MIL) executive director B R Anil Kumar, after CBI arrested him on Oct 13 with two others in an alleged bribery case linked to a Rs500-crore ammunition contract with private defence manufacturer SMPP Ltd.A senior official from the department of defence production told TOI that Kumar had been suspended on disciplinary grounds, in accordance with the applicable rules. “We are also planning to conduct an internal inquiry to understand at what level his involvement was in the overall dealing with a private firm and what documents he had shared with it. At this stage, MIL has been cooperating with the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and will share all necessary documents sought by the agency,” the official said.A senior Indian Ordnance Factory Service official said, “The ministry should form a separate inquiry panel to investigate this case. It needs to find out loopholes in the existing system and frame some guidelines and restrictions while dealing with high valued contracts with private firms in PSUs. An independent vigilance branch also needs to be established at each of these corporations to monitor officials’ activities regularly.”A special CBI court remanded Kumar, his brother Harshavardhan B R and businessman Ashish Kansal, the alleged bribe-giver and CEO and promoter-director of SMPP, in police custody till Oct 19. CBI registered the case on Oct 12.The agency alleged that Kumar, while serving as executive director at the Pune-headquartered defence PSU, sought and accepted illegal gratification in exchange for official favours and access to sensitive information concerning defence production, procurement and other strategically important activities.MIL’s chairman and managing director Sanjay Hazari did not respond to TOI’s phone calls and text messages seeking the organisation’s response on the matter. It did not respond to a media query sent through the defence PRO, Pune, either.CBI investigators are examining if the alleged irregularities extended beyond Kumar and the private businessman. According to officials, the agency will question other govt employees and examine the role of an angadia, a traditional courier service provider, named as a co-accused in the case.“The dealing of a high-value contract with a private firm is not done by a single official of the company. Therefore, the role of other MIL officials is also being probed,” a source said.Investigators are also expected to scrutinise contracts handled by Kumar and examine earlier high-value orders processed by other senior officials. “The objective is to establish whether the alleged conduct was confined to one transaction or a wider chain of officials and private intermediaries was involved,” said the source.Kumar has been associated with MIL since the restructuring of the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board into seven defence public sector undertakings in 2021. He was also additional general manager of the Ammunition Factory Khadki for a few years.CBI is examining if former senior MIL officials who joined private defence companies after retirement could have influenced procurement decisions or helped particular firms secure orders.The investigation comes when MIL has emerged as one of the leading ammunition manufacturers and exporters of the ministry of defence. According to the official data, MIL posted a profit of Rs1,250 crore after tax in 2025-26, the highest among the seven defence companies carved out of the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board five years ago. It reported record revenue of Rs10,954 crore in 2025-26, up 33% from the previous year. Exports have become a major growth driver.The company manufactures ammunition and explosives for the armed forces and other security agencies.
