New Delhi: The CBI has arrested K.C. Joshi, the Chief Material Manager of Northeastern Railway Gorakhpur on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs 3 lakh, and ensuing raids yielded Rs 2.61 crore in cash.
After the arrest, the CBI conducted raids at premises linked to the officer in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida and Gorakhpur which resulted in the recovery of the cash.
Joshi is an officer from the 1988 batch of the Indian Railway Store Service (IRSS) and was posted in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur.
A senior CBI official stated that they received a complaint from a person, named Pranav Tripathi, regarding the bribery demand by Joshi.
Tripathi, the proprietor of Sukti Associates, had registered his firm on the GEM portal. He supplied products and services to Northeastern Railway Gorakhpur and other government departments through his company.
Tripathi won a tender for the supply of three trucks of materials from the Store Depot, Northeastern Railway Gorakhpur, in January 2023, which was valid until January 15, 2024, with a payment of Rs 80,000 per truck per month.
“Joshi, who is responsible for such matters, wrote to cancel the registration of Tripathi’s firm on the GEM portal and threatened to cancel ongoing tenders if a bribe was not paid,” read the complaint.
The CBI verified the complaint, which prima facie substantiated the allegations. Consequently, the CBI filed an FIR under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The official said that further investigation into the matter was ongoing.
(IANS)
