The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a senior section engineer of South Central Railway in Vijayawada while he was allegedly accepting a ₹15 lakh bribe from a contractor. A private individual identified as Srichand was also arrested in connection with the case.
Who's Been Arrested
The railway official has been identified as Bapiraju, senior section engineer in the office of the Chief Signal and Telecommunications Engineer Projects, South Central Railway, Vijayawada. The CBI registered a case on August 16 against the engineer, four representatives of private companies, and unidentified public servants and private persons, over an alleged demand for a bribe.
A ₹179.50 Crore Project Under Scrutiny
According to the CBI, a joint venture of two private companies had been awarded an Automatic Block Signalling project worth ₹179.50 crore by South Central Railway. The joint venture later claimed a bonus of around ₹7 crore for completing the work ahead of schedule — and it's this bonus claim that has now landed at the centre of the bribery allegations.
The agency alleges that officials in CSTE Projects manipulated dates in the bonus file specifically to extend undue favour to the joint venture and facilitate approval of its claim. This kind of date manipulation in official financial records is exactly the sort of red flag that thorough auditing services in India are designed to catch — carefully cross-checking project timelines, completion dates, and bonus eligibility documentation against actual work records to ensure claims genuinely reflect what happened on the ground, rather than what's convenient on paper.
The Bribe and the Arrest
CBI officials arrested Bapiraju while he was allegedly accepting ₹15 lakh from a contractor in Vijayawada, with the arrest reportedly taking place on Sunday. A private individual, Srichand, was also taken into custody, though his exact role in the alleged transaction hasn't been specified beyond confirmation that he was arrested in connection with the same case.
The CBI case names four representatives of private companies alongside the railway engineer, and also references unidentified public servants and private persons. The investigation centres squarely on the alleged bribe demand connected to the railway project and its bonus claim.
What the CBI Is Investigating
The core of the allegation is that dates were altered in official records concerning the bonus file, specifically to help the joint venture receive favourable treatment on its ₹7 crore bonus claim, tied to a project originally valued at ₹179.50 crore.
The case is now under active investigation following the arrests. Details on the identities of the four private company representatives, how the bribe amount was allegedly distributed, and the next stage of legal proceedings are yet to emerge as the CBI continues its probe.
FAQs
Q1. What was the alleged bribe amount in this case?
CBI officials arrested railway engineer Bapiraju while he was allegedly accepting ₹15 lakh from a contractor in Vijayawada.
Q2. What is the connection between the bribery case and the bonus claim?
The CBI alleges that officials manipulated dates in the bonus file to help a joint venture secure a ₹7 crore bonus claim on a ₹179.50 crore Automatic Block Signalling project completed ahead of schedule.
Q3. Who else has been named in the CBI case?
The case names railway engineer Bapiraju, private individual Srichand, four representatives of private companies, and unidentified public servants and private persons.