CBI arrests three in bribery case involving Northern Railway officers and private vendor

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three individuals, including a Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer (Sr DEE) and a Senior Section Engineer (SSE), both officers from the Northern Railway, and a private vendor, in connection with a major bribery scandal.

The arrests took place immediately after the exchange of a bribe amounting to Rs 7 lakh. The amount was allegedly being paid to the officers for extending favours to a Delhi-based private company linked to the vendor.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Saket Chand Srivastava, Senior DEE, and Tapendra Singh Gurjar, SSE, both serving in the DRM Office of Northern Railway in New Delhi, along with Gautam Chawla, a private vendor associated with M/s Vatsal Infotech Private Limited, Delhi. CBI officials say the officers demanded and accepted the bribe in return for favouring the company, which included awarding work orders and clearing pending bills for various private entities.

In addition to the arrests, CBI officials conducted multiple searches across nine locations, including the residential and official premises of the accused officers. The search resulted in the recovery of significant assets, including Rs 63.85 lakh in cash, gold bars and ornaments valued at approximately Rs 3.46 crore, and various documents related to property ownership, mobile phones, laptops, hard drives, and statements confirming the payment of bribes.

Further investigations led to the operation of a locker held by the wife of Sr DEE Saket Chand Srivastava, where additional gold ornaments and bars worth over Rs 2.5 crore were recovered. The assets seized and the evidence collected have significantly deepened the scope of the investigation, which is ongoing, say the agency’s officials.

The CBI has registered a case involving seven accused individuals, including the arrested officers and private vendors, in addition to the private companies linked to the accused. Those named in the FIR include:

Saket Chand Srivastava – Senior DEE (Gen.), DRM Office, New Delhi (arrested)

Tapendra Singh Gurjar – SSE, Electrical – G Branch, DRM Office, New Delhi (arrested)

Arun Jindal – SSE (In-Charge of Tender Section), Electrical – G Branch, DRM Office, New Delhi

Gautam Chawla – M/s Vatsal Infotech Private Limited, Delhi (arrested)

M/s Vatsal Infotech Private Limited, Delhi

Saket Kumar – Director, M/s Shivmani Enterprises Private Limited, Ghaziabad

M/s Shivmani Enterprises Private Limited, Ghaziabad

Other unknown private persons and public servants

The investigation has exposed a network of corruption involving multiple individuals and entities, with public servants allegedly accepting illegal gratification in exchange for unfair advantages.

--IANS

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