Corrupt officer's advice against corruption

There cannot be a greater irony. The railway officer, under whose name messages for fighting corruption still adorn the walls of Ratlam railway station, was involved in one of the biggest Railway scams of the country. Ritesh Mishra reports.

There cannot be a greater irony. The railway officer, under whose name messages for fighting corruption still adorn the walls of Ratlam railway station, was involved in one of the biggest Railway scams of the country!

Railway-Board-member-Mahesh-Kumar-after-his-arrest-by-CBI-on-bribery-charges-in-Mumbai-PTI

"Kripaya rishwat na dijiye (Please don't give bribe)," still reads a message inscribed on a board at Ratlam railway station with the then Western Railway general manager Mahesh Kumar's name below it.

Incidentally, the former general manager, Mahesh Kumar, is accused of bribing Vijay Singla, the nephew of former railway minister Pavan Kumar Bansal and is currently in jail.

The notice board put just above the ticket counter at Ratlam railway station mentions Mahesh Kumar's name, designation and phone number on which people can complaint in case somebody seeks favours.

“Who thought that instead of fighting corruption, he would become be a part of the deal that cost the rail minister his chair," said a railway employee, requesting anonymity.

Repeated efforts to reach DRM Ratlam failed.

On May 3, the CBI had registered an FIR and named Kumar, Narayan Rao Manjunath, MD of GG Tronics India Pvt Ltd, Sandeep Goyal, Vijay Singla, Ajay Garg, Rahul Yadav, Samir Sandhir and Sushil Daga as accused in the case lodged under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC. Kumar was later arrested from Mumbai.

According to CBI sources, GG Tronics was engaged in the business of manufacturing of railway signal products and automation railway component whereas Goyal's firm Pyramid Electronics was manufacturing electrical equipment for railways.

CBI, in its FIR, has said Kumar was trying to get himself appointed as member (electrical), Railway Board, and he, along with Manjunath, was in contact with Goyal for this purpose.

The FIR further said that after being appointed as member (staff) Railway Board, Kumar, an officer of Indian Railway Service of signal engineers, had requested Goyal that till his appointment as member (electrical), he should be given the additional charge of GM, Western Railways.