The MIL bribery case now has names attached to it. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has identified the three people it arrested on Tuesday as Anil Kumar, Executive Director of Munitions India Limited (MIL), Ashish Kansal, Chief Executive Officer and a director and promoter of private defence firm SMPP Ltd, and B. Harshavardhan, who is Anil Kumar's brother.

The agency's press release on Wednesday had described the accused only as an MIL Executive Director and two private persons. The names followed in response to media queries.

What the CBI alleges in the MIL bribery case

According to the CBI, the case was registered on Monday against Anil Kumar over his time as Executive Director at MIL in Pune. The agency alleges that he acted in connivance with certain private contractors and vendors, and demanded and accepted illegal gratification in exchange for extending official favours. Put simply, the charge is that money was paid so that some suppliers would get favourable treatment from a government-owned defence company. Anil Kumar is the only public servant among the three. The other two are private persons. All three were arrested a day after the case was filed.

Around Rs 2.2 crore in cash recovered

Searches at the Pune premises of the accused officer turned up Rs 1.73 crore in cash, the agency said.

CBI teams then searched premises of the accused in Mysuru, Bengaluru and Delhi. Those searches yielded approximately Rs 50 lakh in cash, along with documents the agency described as incriminating. Taken together, the cash recovered so far comes to around Rs 2.2 crore.

Investigation continuing

The CBI said the investigation of the case is continuing. At this early stage, details such as the specific contracts involved and the favours alleged are normally set out later, when the agency files its chargesheet before a court. The press release was issued from the CBI's Information Section and is available on the CBI website.

What Munitions India Limited does

MIL is one of the seven defence public sector undertakings created when the Ordnance Factory Board was wound up on 1 October 2021, and it is headquartered in Pune. It makes ammunition and explosives for the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and functions under the Department of Defence Production of the Ministry of Defence. MIL holds Mini Ratna Category-I status. The seven companies formed from the old ordnance factories together recorded a profit of Rs 2,801 crore in FY 2025-26, according to the Ministry of Defence's Annual Report. An Executive Director is a senior management post in such a company.

Where SMPP fits in

SMPP is a defence equipment maker that filed draft papers with market regulator SEBI in 2024 for a proposed public issue of around Rs 4,000 crore.

The company was in the news earlier this year after it delivered Peacekeeper (Agniveg) loitering munitions to the Indian Army. That supply drew questions over how much of the drone was made in India, and further reporting looked at the Belarusian route through which the system was sourced.

The CBI's release speaks of private contractors and vendors in general terms. So far, it has not linked the MIL bribery case to any particular SMPP order or product.