CBI arrests three including two railway officials in bribery case

CBI arrests three, including two railway officials, in a bribery case involving ₹30,000 demanded from a Mumbai businessman for product clearance.

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) Mumbai unit has arrested three accused, including two railway officials working with a rail-coach manufacturing unit located in Uttar Pradesh, in an alleged bribery case, based on the complaint of the promoter of a Mumbai firm’ that supplies pharmacy, medical products and safety goggles.

CBI arrests three including two railway officials in bribery case

The accused railway officials, while is posted in Raebareli with the Modern Coach Factory (MCF), a rail-coach manufacturing unit of the Indian Railway, had allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹30,000 from the Mumbai businessman — the complainant in the case. Since June this year, he has been contacting him telephonically and offering to facilitate the clearance of his products to comply with a railway purchase order. As the businessman did not want to pay the bribe, he complained to CBI’s anti-corruption branch.

After laying a trap, where the complainant allegedly transferred the bribe of ₹30,000 meant for the two accused officials to a private person, on the duo’s directions, via an online payment procedure, the CBI arrested the three accused in Raebareli. The arrested accused are Ranjeet, chief depot material superintendent (MCF), Arvind, ward officer (MCF), and private person, Rinku Kumar.

Both the accused public servants had allegedly confirmed the receipt of the bribe amount. The trio was produced before a court in Raebareli that granted transit remand for them, after which they were produced before a Special CBI Court in Mumbai, which remanded them to police custody till Friday. The CBI carried out searches at the residential and official premises of the accused persons in Raebareli that led to the recovery of incriminating documents, agency sources said.

The agency had earlier booked the trio in a case registered on Friday under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act, pertaining to criminal conspiracy and demand of undue advantage by a public servant, based on the complaint from the businessman.

The businessman had claimed that his firm had received a railway purchase order in June from the MCF for the provision of two types of safety spectacles/goggles. It was alleged that the accused officers demanded a bribe for approval of items (safety spectacles) supplied by the complainant’s trading firm in response to an online tender floated by the MCF.

In compliance with the said purchase order, the complainant allegedly had earlier sent a supply of items to MCF in bulk. It was further alleged that the complainant had received several telephonic calls from the accused public servants who consistently demanded bribes for approval of his material.

“But the complainant had ignored the bribe ‘s demand, following which he received a letter of rejection for one of the items supplied to MCF on August 28. It was also alleged that the complainant again received calls from accused public servants to pay bribes for approval of items provided by his firm to MCF,” a CBI source said.