Senior rly officer of CKP Division in ₹4 lakh CBI bribery trap

Pioneer News Service
Jamshedpur

In a major anti-corruption operation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a senior South Eastern Railway official along with two representatives of a private signalling company after they were allegedly caught red-handed during the exchange of a ₹4 lakh bribe at Howrah Railway Station.

The arrested railway officer has been identified as Satyam Kumar, Deputy Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer (Dy. CSTE) of the Chakradharpur Division. Also arrested were Subrata Chakraborty and Raju Pandit, representatives of Kolkata-based M/s MRT Signals Ltd., who allegedly delivered the cash to the officer. The CBI recovered the entire bribe amount during the trap operation.

According to the CBI, the operation was carried out on the morning of July 25 when Satyam Kumar was preparing to board the Howrah–Rourkela Vande Bharat Express to return to Chakradharpur. Acting on a complaint, officers of the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Kolkata, laid a trap at the station. As soon as the alleged bribe money changed hands, the CBI team intercepted the accused and arrested all three.

The case stems from allegations that illegal gratification was demanded for processing and approving several contractual matters relating to M/s MRT Signals Ltd., a company engaged in signalling and telecommunication works in the Chakradharpur Railway Division. The pending matters reportedly included contract variation files, variation bills, Price Variation Clause (PVC) claims, Running Account (RA) bills and supplementary agreements.

The FIR, registered on July 24, alleges that the railway officer demanded illegal payments in exchange for extending official approvals and facilitating the company’s pending files. Investigators have also alleged that a payment of ₹5 lakh had been made in May this year for the approval of a variation file. According to the FIR, the payment was allegedly routed through company representative Amit Tibrewal with the help of an employee identified as Sachin Jha. The latest payment of ₹4 lakh was allegedly demanded as the remaining amount.

The investigation gathered momentum after the CBI reportedly obtained details of a conversation between the railway officer and company representative Amit Tibrewal on July 24. During the conversation, the officer allegedly discussed the status of the company’s supplementary agreement and variation bill and indicated that approvals from senior railway authorities were awaited before final processing. Investigators claim the conversation also included plans for handing over the remaining bribe amount.

Apart from the three arrested persons, the FIR names Amit Tibrewal, company director Ankit Anchalia, M/s MRT Signals Ltd., and other unidentified persons whose roles may emerge during the investigation.

The case has been registered under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (criminal conspiracy) and multiple provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, including Sections 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12, relating to bribery by public servants, commercial organisations and those facilitating such offences.

The three arrested accused are expected to be produced before the competent court, where the CBI is likely to seek their custodial remand for further interrogation.

The investigation is being supervised by Tarun Kumar Sinha, Additional Superintendent of Police, CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch, Kolkata.