New Delhi, July 5: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an Assistant Divisional Engineer (ADE) of Northern Railways, Sanjeev Saxena, posted at Chandausi in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, a statement from the probe agency said on Saturday.
The CBI also arrested the Divisional Engineer’s subordinate, Akash, a Trackman, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 34,000 from a railway contractor. According to CBI officials, a case was registered by the CBI on July 4 following a complaint lodged by the contractor.
The complainant, who owns a private firm engaged in railway infrastructure works, alleged that the ADE had demanded a 2 per cent commission — amounting to Rs 34,000 — for clearing pending bills worth Rs 17,57,605 related to a railway track fitting project, the statement said.
The contract had been awarded to the firm on January 19 last year by the Moradabad Division of Northern Railways. Acting on the complaint, the CBI said it laid a trap and caught both the Assistant Divisional Engineer and the Trackman red-handed on the night of July 4 while they were allegedly accepting the bribe amount from the complainant.
Both the accused were subjected to detailed questioning and subsequently placed under arrest on the morning of July 5, Saturday. They are likely to be produced before the Special Judge, CBI Court, in Ghaziabad later on Saturday. The CBI has said that further investigation is underway to determine whether more officials are involved in the bribery network or if similar demands were made from other contractors.
Further investigation is ongoing. Earlier in April, the CBI had arrested two senior officials of the Northern Railway on charges of accepting Rs 7 lakh in bribes in exchange for approving bills of a private firm.
IANS