CBI arrests WR officer for alleged bribery in processing bills worth ₹4.8 crore

CBI arrests Western Railway official for allegedly demanding ₹50,000 bribe. Case registered under Prevention of Corruption Act. Public urged to report bribery cases.

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Sanjay Waghela, chief office superintendent at DRM office, Western Railway, on charges of allegedly demanding and obtaining a bribe amounting to ₹50,000 from a representative of a private firm. The bribe was reportedly solicited for processing three bills totaling ₹4.8 crore against supplies.

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The CBI registered a case on Thursday based on the complainant, who represents the supplier firm regularly providing materials to Western Railway (WR). The firm submitted bills for the supplied materials, and its representative followed up with WR’s accounts department for clearance and payment. The CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Mumbai registered the case under section 7 (demand of undue advantage by a public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

It was alleged that the firm had recently also completed its supply order from the WR, for which it had submitted three bills, amounting to around ₹4.8 crore, to the accounts department, where the accused was the processing officer, the sources said. When the complainant approached the chief office superintendent for processing the three bills, the latter allegedly demanded a bribe of around ₹50,000 (at the rate of ₹100 per lakh of the total billed amount of ₹4.8 crore), the sources said.

Alerted by the complainant, a CBI team laid a trap and arrested the accused while accepting the bribe of ₹50,000 at his office in Mumbai on Thursday. A city special court on Friday remanded the accused official to CBI’s custody till February 26.

The CBI also conducted searches at two locations associated with the accused, leading to the recovery of potentially incriminating documents and details of movable and immovable assets.

The CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch urges the public to report any instances of bribery or undue advantage sought by the central government, bank, or railway employees. Complaints or information can be sent to their contact email ID, sp1acmum@cbi.gov.in, or phone numbers 8433700000 or 022-26543700.