A senior officer of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) allegedly sought Rs 50,000 per audit from the director of a flight training organisation to issue airworthiness certificates for aircraft it operated, without ensuring full compliance with prescribed airworthiness and safety requirements, according to a probe.

On Sunday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Sushil Kumar Garg, Deputy Director (Airworthiness), DGCA, posted in Chennai, and Ekvi Air Training Organisation Private Limited director Sachin Keshav Bhane in connection with an alleged bribery case.

The agency alleged that Garg demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh to extend undue favours in the airworthiness certification of aircraft operated by the private firm.

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According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered on October 3, Ekvi Air Training Organisation, registered with the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai, and based in Thane, Maharashtra, operates a fleet of seven aircraft, with its training base at Salem Airport in Tamil Nadu.

The FIR said Garg conducted an airworthiness audit or inspection of the company’s aircraft on July 31. It alleges that he sought a bribe in return for a favourable audit report, without properly inspecting the aircraft and overlooking certain deficiencies observed in the fleet. However, he could not collect the amount on that occasion because he was accompanied by a senior officer.

“On September 23 and September 26, Garg told the company he would visit its training facility in the first week of October 2026 and collect the payment from its representatives, and that Bhane would be present at Salem during the visit. Later, they negotiated on October 2 and settled at Rs 50,000 per audit. Garg had previously received a mobile phone worth approximately Rs 50,000 from Bhane,” the FIR alleged.

The FIR alleged that Garg told his wife that day that Bhane had given him a packet containing five bundles of currency notes amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh.