The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against a Chief Administrative Officer and a Chief Engineer (construction) with the North Eastern Railway besides six private persons, including the chief editor of a small-time Mumbai magazine, for allegedly receiving bribes in lieu of a contract worth Rs.58 crore.
The contract was for the construction of three rail over-bridges between Maharajganj and Masrakh in the North Eastern Railway Zone in Bihar. “Searches have been conducted at 12 locations on the residential and office premises of the accused senior Railway officials and the other accused persons in Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Chhapra (Bihar) and Mumbai,” said a CBI official.
According to the agency, the two accused Railway officials are Chief Administrative Officer Omkar Singh and Chief Engineer Sanjay Kumar Mishra. The magazine editor has been identified as Suresh Tripathi.
“During the searches, we seized Rs.15 lakh in cash and jewellery worth Rs.50 lakh from Mr. Mishra’s residence,” said the official. The CBI teams have also seized cash, jewellery and details of bank account, fixed deposits and properties from other places. “Certain documents allegedly relating to the transfer and posting of Railway officials and award of contracts were also seized from the premises of a private person,” said the official, adding that some of the accused are contractors.
