LUCKNOW: Invest UP CEO and former Lucknow district magistrate Abhishek Prakash was suspended on Thursday following allegations of irregularities in the evaluation process for a proposed solar manufacturing project. A middleman who demanded a bribe for approval of a solar project – allegedly at the behest of a senior official in Invest UP – was also arrested by Lucknow police.
The charges against the 2006 batch IAS officer were investigated and have been, prima facie, found to be true. A govt press release said that the inquiry concluded that his conduct could potentially hinder the objectives of the UP Industrial Investment and Employment Promotion Policy 2022, damaging investor confidence and tarnishing the state’s image as an investment-friendly destination.
Sources in the government said that the complaint had reached the chief minister’s office who sought an investigation into the matter. According to details of the case that have come to light, Vishwajit Datta of SAEL Solar P6 Pvt Ltd wrote to the government on March 20, 2025, saying that his company wanted to set up a solar cell and solar power-related parts manufacturing unit in UP but to clear this proposal, a demand of 5% of the project cost had been made, which he had refused to pay.
According to his complaint, his application had been submitted to both Invest UP and also online. However, before the application was presented to the evaluation committee, a “senior official in Invest UP” had given him the number of one Nikant Jain and told that if this person recommended his project, it would be cleared immediately by the evaluation panel and the Cabinet. Jain then made a demand of 5% of the project cost as commission and asked for cash in advance, a demand that Datta rejected. The project then went on to receive approval by the evaluation committee, and despite that, was not finally cleared. Jain allegedly told Datta that only he could help get this work done.
Jain was arrested on Thursday.
In the investigation carried out by the government, it has been found that the matter came up before the evaluation committee, headed by Invest UP CEO, on March 12, 2025. The committee recommended the application to the high-level empowered committee for “further recommendation and approval in the light of the above negotiations on its strategic importance and case to case package being sought by the applicant”.
However, the note sheet on the case shows that subsequently, the CEO made another recommendation, saying that the “application be put up before the evaluation committee again for re-evaluation after relevant details have been submitted by the applicant, YEIDA and UPPCL”.
The investigation report says that this made it clear that despite approval by the evaluation committee, the final order asked for resubmission of the application. It also came to light that the second recommendation was made after altering the evaluation committee recommendation, without giving any explanation for the same.
The report further says that these facts give credence to the suspicion that Invest UP CEO Abhishek Prakash could be behind this due to “malicious intent, vested interest and unfair financial gain”.
“Considering that Prakash’s presence on the post will make it difficult to implement the spirit of the UP Industrial Investment and Employment Promotion Policy 2022 and demoralise others who want to invest in UP, it was decided to suspend the officer,” said an official.
