The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recovered another ₹1.40 crore from North Eastern Railway’s principal chief materials’ officer in Gorakhpur KC Joshi. Also, jewellery worth ₹60 lakh was recovered from his family members, said senior officials in the agency on Friday.
A day after his arrest in connection with a bribe case, the CBI on Wednesday recovered ₹2.61 crore cash and incriminating documents in searches conducted at Joshi’s office and residences in Gorakhpur and Gautambuddhnagar. Joshi is an Indian Railway Store Services (IRSS) officer of the 1988 batch and was posted at NER, Gorakhpur. The fresh recovery was made after CBI officials examined his bank accounts.
Confirming the facts, a senior CBI official said a fresh case of disproportionate assets (DA) could be registered against Joshi to further investigate and evaluate his assets. He said another bank locker that belonged to his family members in Mathura was likely to be searched on Monday.
The anti-corruption wing of the CBI, Lucknow unit on Tuesday arrested Joshi for allegedly demanding and accepting bribe of ₹3 lakh from the complainant. The CBI had registered the FIR under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act for accepting gratification other than lawful remuneration on the complaint of Pranav Tripathi, the proprietor of M/S Sukti Associates.
The complainant had accused him of demanding ₹7 lakh for not cancelling the registration of the complainant’s firm on GeM (Government e-Marketplace) portal. The GeM portal is meant for procurement of goods and services for all central government and state government ministries, departments, public sector units and affiliated organisations and it endeavors to make public procurement process transparent, efficient and inclusive.
{{/usCountry}}The complainant had accused him of demanding ₹7 lakh for not cancelling the registration of the complainant’s firm on GeM (Government e-Marketplace) portal. The GeM portal is meant for procurement of goods and services for all central government and state government ministries, departments, public sector units and affiliated organisations and it endeavors to make public procurement process transparent, efficient and inclusive.
{{/usCountry}}It was further alleged that the complainant’s firm was supplying trucks to the Railways on yearly contract at ₹ 80,000 per truck per month. The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused on accepting undue advantage from the complainant. The complaint was received on September 9 and has been discretely verified during which prima facie the allegations were substantiated.