The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday registered a case involving seven railway employees and Bhartia Infra Projects Ltd., a private company, in a bribery scandal amounting to Rs 60 crore linked to projects in the North East Frontier Railway zone from 2016 to 2023. The investigation commenced when Santosh Kumar, a senior section engineer in the North East Frontier Railway zone, was arrested in a Rs 2 crore bribery case. Subsequent searches at his premises led to the discovery of a more extensive bribery network.
Alleged payments by private firm
Bhartia Infra Projects Ltd. is accused of taking bribes exceeding Rs 60 crore to railway officials. The CBI uncovered evidence during searches, including a list of officials associated with the company who allegedly received bribes between 2016 and 2023.
Projects under scrutiny
The private firm secured six significant projects from the North East Frontier Railway between 2016 and 2022, encompassing the construction of a station yard, tunnel portal protection, and the development of a single-line tunnel, RCC retaining wall, and foundation of a major bridge over the Barak River.
Accused officials named in FIR
The CBI files an FIR naming the accused individuals, including the then deputy chief engineer Rampal, deputy chief engineers Jitendra Jha and BU Laskar, and senior superintendent engineers Rituraj Gogoi, Dhiraj Bhagawat, Manoj Saikia, and Mithun Das, along with Bhartia Infra Projects Ltd.
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