CBI raids Northern Railway office in bribery case

The CBI has conducted searches at the Northern Railway office in Baroda House in New Delhi in connection with an alleged bribery case involving Narender Singh, Chief Materials Manager (Store) and others, officials said Saturday. 

The operation was conducted on Friday evening following a tip-off that the officer was about to take a bribe from a businessman from Uttar Pradesh, they said. The CBI has booked Singh, Chief Materials Manager, his deputy, Shuvashis Maity, Deputy Chief Materials Manager, and Lenin Sharma, Senior Clerk (Store) — all three posted at Northern Railways (HQ), Baroda House, New Delhi.

The FIR has also named businessmen Shariq Ali and Ejaz Ali of Mash International Pvt Ltd (Mash & Co), Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The company has also been named as an accused. The CBI alleged in the FIR that Shariq regularly obtained “valuable and confidential information” relating to railway tenders, along with other official favours, through Sharma and his associates in exchange for illegal gratification.

A purchase order for the Safety Shoes was issued in favour of Mash International Pvt Ltd in April this year, for which Shariq asked Ejaz to visit Delhi to pay bribes to the concerned officers, the FIR alleged.

“The source has further informed that Singh and his deputy, Maity, act in tandem and close coordination, further extending undue favours to Mash International Pvt. It’s either of the two that receives the pecuniary advantage/illegal gratification on the other’s behalf,” the FIR alleged.