The CBI on Monday arrested A.K. Kathpal, a former Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer earlier posted at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, for demanding and accepting an alleged bribe of ₹50 lakh. Four persons have been detained.
The accused is a retired 1984-batch Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) official. “Searches were conducted in the premises of the accused at nine locations in Delhi and Chennai, which led to seizure of about ₹2.75 crore and 23 kg gold,” said an agency official.
The CBI registered the case against Mr. Kathpal and others on the allegations that he, while holding the post of Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer in ICF (Chennai), indulged in various activities in collusion with the director of a Chennai-based private firm and unknown persons in the award or execution of tenders related to the ICF’s mechanical division.
The agency has alleged that from February 2019 to March 31, 2021, (the date of his retirement), the official received bribes from, and through, the company director and others. The director had collected about ₹5.89 crore on his behalf.
At his instance, she got the first instalment of ₹50 lakh delivered to the official’s brother in Delhi through some persons.
“The former Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer was caught by the CBI while demanding and accepting ₹50 lakh as the second instalment of the bribe amount from the said private persons. Four other persons have been detained,” the official said.
