Railway Bribery Case: CBI Raids Trigger Major Action Across Rajasthan-Chhattisgarh

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested six railway officials in three separate bribery cases registered in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The officials were allegedly caught taking money to clear bills for private companies.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested six railway officials in a major crackdown across Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The arrests were made in connection with three separate bribery cases. The officials were allegedly demanding and accepting bribes to clear bills for private companies and provide other official favours. During raids at the accused's offices and homes, the CBI seized lakhs of rupees in cash and other incriminating documents.

Three Officials Nabbed in Jaipur

The CBI registered a case against an Office Superintendent from the North Western Railway's Jaipur Division. The allegation was that he was taking bribes to clear bills for a private company. The investigation revealed that he was in cahoots with officials and employees of a Navi Mumbai-based private firm.

On August 13, the CBI laid a trap and caught the Office Superintendent, an Assistant Financial Advisor, and a Senior Section Officer, along with an employee of the private company. The agency recovered ₹1.46 lakh from them. In follow-up searches at various locations in Jaipur and Delhi, the CBI seized nearly ₹9 lakh in cash and several electronic devices.

Two More Arrested in Bikaner

In another case, the CBI booked officials for demanding bribes to clear the bills of a Kolkata-based private company. This company was handling contract work under the North Western Railway's Bikaner Division. On August 13, the CBI arrested a Senior Section Officer, an Accounts Assistant, and an employee of the Kolkata firm. A bribe amount of ₹1.20 lakh was recovered from them. Searches in Bikaner and Jaipur led to the seizure of case-related documents and electronic gadgets.

Senior Railway Officer Caught in Bhilai

The CBI also arrested a Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer of the South East Central Railway in Bhilai. The accused is an officer from the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME). He had allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹2 lakh from a complainant to clear pending bills. After some negotiation, the amount was brought down to ₹1 lakh. The CBI team caught the officer and a middleman who had collected the first instalment of the bribe, which was ₹50,000. During searches at their homes and offices in Raipur and Bhilai, the CBI seized a whopping ₹77 lakh in cash and gold jewellery worth ₹14 lakh. Both the accused were produced in court on August 14 and have been sent to 4-day police custody. The CBI has stated that the investigation in all three cases is ongoing.