Railway engineer arrested with ₹63L cash and valuables; property worth ₹13-cr

Mumbai: The principal chief mechanical engineer (PCME) of the Central Railway was arrested in a massive bribery case

Mumbai: The principal chief mechanical engineer (PCME) of the Central Railway was arrested in a massive bribery case. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recovered ₹23 lakh in cash, jewellery worth ₹40 lakh, details of properties worth ₹13 crore and deposits of USD 2,00,000 ( ₹1,63,30,770) in three foreign bank accounts in Singapore and the USA.

Railway engineer arrested with ₹63L cash and valuables; property worth ₹13-cr

According to the agency, some bills of the Kolkata-based firm, a railway contractor, were pending with the mechanical engineering department of the Central Railway and the PCME, Ashok Kumar Gupta, the head of the mechanical engineering department allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹1 lakh to clear the bills.

Acting on specific information, CBI registered an offence, and arrested the official driver of the PCME, Abdul Kalam Shaikh, for allegedly accepting the ₹1 lakh as a bribe on behalf of the PCME from the partner of the Kolkata-based firm. The partner, Aditya Tiberwal is also arrested in the case.

The agency, thereafter conducted searches at ten locations, including in Mumbai, Kolkata, Ghaziabad, Noida, Dehradun and Delhi, connected with the PCME and the firm.

During searches at Gupta’s premises, cash of around ₹23 lakh, and jewellery worth around ₹40 lakh have been recovered, said the agency in a statement released on Tuesday.

At his residence, CBI officials also stumbled upon documents and details of investments of around ₹8 crore, land and houses at Delhi, Noida, Haridwar and Dehradun worth over ₹5 crore, three foreign bank accounts in Singapore and the USA, having deposits of around USD 2,00,000, the statement added.

Besides, the agency has also found details of an NRI bank account and some other bank accounts in the name of the PCME and his family members. One bank locker has also been identified.