CBI arrests railway officer in bribery case, recovers Rs 2.61 crore
New Delhi (IANS). CBI has arrested KC Joshi, Chief Material Manager of North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur, on charges of taking a bribe of Rs 3 lakh. The CBI team has recovered Rs 2.61 crore cash in the raid.
Following the arrest, the CBI raided premises linked to the officer in Noida and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, resulting in the recovery of cash. Joshi is a 1988 batch officer of the Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS) and was posted in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.
“They had received a complaint from one Pranab Tripathi regarding demand for bribe by Joshi,” a senior CBI official said.
Tripathi, owner of Sukti Associates, had registered his company on the GeM portal. He supplied products and services to North Eastern Railway Gorakhpur and other government departments through his company.
In January 2023, Tripathi won a tender for the supply of three trucks worth of material from the stores depot of North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur, which was valid till January 15, 2024, with a payment of Rs 80,000 per month per truck.
He said in his complaint that KC Joshi wrote to cancel the registration of Tripathi’s firm on the GeM portal and threatened to cancel the ongoing tender if the bribe was not paid. The CBI verified the complaint, which prima facie proved the allegations to be true. As a result, the CBI registered an FIR under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The officer said that further investigation into the matter is underway.
