New Delhi, Apr 3 (IANS): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday said it has registered a case against nine officials of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) including its General Managers, Project Directors, Managers, and 13 others in connection with a cheating and forgery case.

A senior CBI official said it was alleged that between 2008-2010, the projects -- Surat-Hazira Port Section of NH-06, Kishangarh-Ajmer-Beawar Section of NH-08, and Varanasi-Aurangabad Section of NH-02 were awarded by NHAI to private companies.

Special Purpose Vehicles were formed for execution of these 3 projects. It was further alleged that during the execution of these 3 projects, the NHAI officials accepted money from private companies.

The officials said they conducted search operations at 22 different locations belonging to the accused in Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

During the searches, cash of Rs 1.1 crore, Fixed Deposit Receipt worth Rs 49.1 lakh, and gold jewelleries worth Rs 4.5 crore from the premises and lockers of the accused was recovered. A few incriminating documents were also seized by the CBI.

"Multiple property documents in the name of NHAI officers were also found. This could be proceeds of crime," said a CBI official.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.