CBI charges railway officials accused of soliciting bribes for product approval

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed charges against three individuals, including two railway officials, in connection with an alleged bribery scheme, officials said on Sunday.
The case, registered by the CBI’s Mumbai unit, stems from a complaint lodged by the owner of a Mumbai-based firm that supplies pharmaceutical products, medical equipment and safety goggles to various agencies, including government entities.
According to the complaint, the accused railway officials, whilst posted in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, had been demanding bribes from the businessman since June to facilitate the approval of sample products submitted as part of a railway purchase order.
The CBI has charged two officials from the Modern Coach Factory (MCF) in Raebareli: Ranjeet, chief depot material superintendent, and Arvind, ward officer, along with their associate, Rinku Kumar, a private citizen. The trio face charges under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act, relating to criminal conspiracy and the solicitation of undue advantage by a public servant.
The businessman alleges that his firm received a purchase order in June from the MCF, a rail coach manufacturing unit of Indian Railways, for two types of safety spectacles. After submitting a sample in June, which was approved in July, he dispatched a consignment to the MCF that same month.
Subsequently, the complainant claims he received numerous phone calls from three MCF officials, including the two accused, demanding bribes for the approval of his materials. “I initially disregarded their demands,” the businessman stated in his complaint.
In August, the complainant received a letter rejecting one of the items provided to the MCF. Following this, the officials allegedly renewed their demands for bribes, to be paid via online transactions, for the approval of the supplied items and the return of the rejected product.
The CBI conducted an initial probe to verify the complaint’s contents on Thursday and Friday. Their investigation revealed that the two accused officials had allegedly been in regular contact with the complainant since June, both demanding bribes of ₹30,000 for their assistance in approving an item sent to the MCF and facilitating the return of a rejected item.
The bribes were allegedly to be paid through online transactions to accounts belonging to Rinku Kumar and another individual, according to CBI sources.