The Gandhinagar unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested five railway officials on Wednesday, including two from the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) posted at the Vadodara division. The officials are accused of accepting bribes from candidates taking departmental examinations, promising them favourable selection in exchange for money.
The arrests come after searches were conducted at 11 locations, including Vadodara, during which the agency seized 650 grams of gold and Rs 5 lakh in cash, a CBI spokesperson confirmed.
Among those arrested were Sunil Bishnoi, a 2008-batch IRPS officer, serving as a senior divisional personnel officer in Vadodara; Ankush Wasan, a 2018-batch IRPS officer, posted as a divisional personnel officer in Vadodara; Sanjay Kumar Tiwari, deputy chief commercial manager at Mumbai’s Churchgate; Neeraj Sinha, deputy station superintendent; and Dinesh Kumar, nursing superintendent, both posted at the Divisional Railway Hospital in Ahmedabad. Additionally, Mukesh Meena, a private individual from Anand, was also apprehended for his involvement in the scam.
The two IRPS officers, Bishnoi and Wasan, were responsible for overseeing the selection process in the upcoming “limited departmental examination” for railway employee promotions. They are accused of accepting bribes from candidates in exchange for ensuring favourable results.
The CBI’s action follows an investigation that led to the registration of an FIR on Tuesday against three Western Railway (WR) officials and a private individual. The case stems from allegations of bribery related to the departmental examination selection process.
According to the CBI’s findings, on February 13, Wasan instructed Tiwari to identify at least ten candidates willing to pay bribes for preferential treatment. Tiwari then contacted Meena, who confirmed the collection of bribe money from five candidates. Sinha also informed Tiwari that he had found four candidates and had already collected money from three of them.
On February 17, Tiwari approached Rajendra Ladla, the proprietor of Dhanraj Jewellers in Vadodara and inquired about purchasing 400 grams of gold in cash, without an invoice. The following day, Tiwari met with Meena in Anand and collected the bribe money on behalf of the candidates.
During the investigation, the CBI intercepted a nursing superintendent from WR, revealing that 650 grams of gold had been found with him. The gold was reportedly obtained from the jeweller for around Rs 57 lakh and was meant to be delivered to Bishnoi, the senior divisional personnel officer.
The case is being investigated under Section 61 of the BNS and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended 2018).
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