The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has held two persons, including an official of the South Eastern Railway, in a bribery case allegedly involving a 1986 batch Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) official.
The official had accepted a bribe of ₹8 lakh from a private person at the alleged instance of Binita Mitra, a Kolkata-based Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer of South Eastern Railway, alleged the agency. She is an IRAS official.
Among those named as accused in the case are Ms. Mitra; Prashant Sarkar, who works with the Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts office; and Dhananjay Singh, the director of a firm based in Dhanbad.
According to the CBI, it registered the First Information Report following allegations that officials of the South Eastern Railway were indulging in corrupt practices while processing the acceptance of tenders, work orders and other related activities.
It is alleged that a tender pertaining to electrical works of supply, erection, testing and commissioning of 25 KV overhead equipment from Balasore to Ranital in Odisha was floated by the South Eastern Railway, in which the Dhanbad-based private company emerged as the lowest bidder.
The accused official demanded a bribe of ₹8 lakh for processing the tender file of the contract pending with the office of the Financial Adviser for financial concurrence. The contractor allegedly instructed his office staff to deliver the amount to the official at the Howrah Railway Station in West Bengal.
Acting on a tip-off, the CBI laid a trap and apprehended the official and the bribe giver. Searches were carried out on the premises of the suspects in West Bengal and Jharkhand.
