The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a senior section engineer of South Central Railway in Vijayawada while he was allegedly accepting a ₹15 lakh bribe from a contractor, according to information visible in the report. A private person identified as Srichand was also arrested in connection with the case.
The railway official was identified as Bapiraju, senior section engineer in the office of the Chief Signal and Telecommunications Engineer Projects, South Central Railway, Vijayawada. The CBI had registered a case on August 16 against the engineer, four representatives of private companies, and unidentified public servants and private persons over an alleged demand for a bribe.
₹179.50 Crore Signalling Project Under Scrutiny
According to the CBI account cited in the report, a joint venture of two private companies had been awarded an Automatic Block Signalling project worth ₹179.50 crore by South Central Railway.
The joint venture later claimed a bonus of around ₹7 crore for completing the work ahead of schedule. The agency alleged that officials of CSTE Projects manipulated dates in the bonus file in order to extend undue favour to the joint venture and facilitate approval of its claim.
The alleged bribery case is linked to this bonus claim and the handling of the project file.
Engineer Allegedly Caught Accepting ₹15 Lakh
CBI officials arrested Bapiraju while he was allegedly accepting ₹15 lakh from a contractor in Vijayawada. The report states that the arrest took place on Sunday.
A private person, Srichand, was also taken into custody. The screenshots do not specify his exact role in the alleged transaction beyond stating that he was arrested in the same case.
The CBI case names four representatives of private companies along with the railway engineer and also refers to unidentified public servants and private persons. The investigation centres on the alleged demand for a bribe connected with the railway project and bonus claim.
CBI Alleges Dates Were Manipulated in Bonus File
The agency has alleged that dates were altered in official records concerning the bonus file so that the joint venture could receive favourable treatment.
The bonus claimed by the joint venture was around ₹7 crore, while the underlying Automatic Block Signalling project was valued at ₹179.50 crore.
The case is now under investigation following the arrests. The material visible in the screenshots does not provide further details on the identities of the four private company representatives, the alleged distribution of the bribe amount or the next stage of legal proceedings.
