- The principal chief materials officer of North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur, was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Lucknow unit of CBI.
- The officer was arrested by the CBI for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh and a sum of around Rs 2.61 crore was later recovered during searches.
- As per reports, the FIR against Joshi was registered based on a complaint filed against him by a contractor.
- CBI official said that the contractor approached the agency claiming that the accused had demanded a bribe of Rs 7 lakh from him and threatened to cancel his firm’s registration from the GEM (Government e-Marketplace) portal if he did not pay him.
- The CBI laid a trap where the exchange of the part payment of the bribe was planned, Joshi was nabbed in the process, they said.
A senior officer of the Northern Railways was arrested by the CBI for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh and a sum of around Rs 2.61 crore was later recovered during searches at his office and various properties in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur.
As per reports, the FIR against Joshi was registered based on a complaint filed against him by Pranav Tripathi, proprietor of M/S Sukti Associates. Following the FIR, the ACB laid a trap and caught him red-handed taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from Tripathi, officials said, adding that raids were conducted at his office and residences in Gorakhpur and New Delhi in this connection during which a sum of about Rs 2.61 crore was recovered.
Citing the complaint, a CBI official said that Tripathi approached the agency on September 9 claiming that the accused had demanded a bribe of Rs 7 lakh from him and threatened to cancel his firm’s registration from the GEM (Government e-Marketplace) portal if he did not pay him. The official said Tripathi’s allegations against the official were discreetly verified and further action initiated which led to the latter’s arrest.
Tripathi won a tender for the supply of materials from the Store Depot, Northeastern Railway Gorakhpur, in January 2023, which was valid until 15.01.2024, 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 and laid a trap where the exchange of the part payment of the bribe was planned, they said. Joshi was nabbed in the process, following which the searches were conducted at his residential premises in Gorakhpur and Noida, where Rs 2.41 crore in cash was seized, they said
Consequently, the CBI filed an FIR under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
(With inputs from agencies)
