Tender Scam: CBI Books Four East Coast Railway Officials

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lodged an FIR against six persons, including four officials of the East Coast Railway, for allegedly accepting bribes in lieu of passing a railway tender in the favour of an accused firm.

Four officials of the East Coast Railway have been identified as Subhas Chandra Das, Jalasutra Sumurtti, Sanjib Kumar Sahoo and Gopabandhu Bhoi.

As per a senior CBI official, in 2015, a tender was passed for the execution of signalling and telecommunication works and the supply of critical materials in connection with the railway electrification work in the Angul-Sambalpur section in Sambalpur division of East Coast Railway in Odisha.

Reportedly, the tender was given to a Jaipur-based firm — Kiran Infra Engineers limited — which quoted a value of Rs 7,10,87,7901. Kishore Sharma, the Director of Kiran lnfra, then authorised Sorabh Dhanuka, a resident of Visakhapatnam, for the execution of tender work.

According to the CBI, Dhanuka and his father Raj Kumar Dhanuka were partners in the firm B.K. Enterprise. It was also learnt that Raj Kumar ran another firm, Raj Kumar & Co., having its office at the same office address as that of B.K. Enterprise.

Following this,  four officials of the East Coast Railway obtained undue pecuniary advantage to the tune of Rs 13,32,0001 from B.K. Enterprise and Raj Kumar & Co through banking transactions in their names as well as in the names of their family members, without consideration from the concerned person (Sorabh Dhanuka), with whom they had official transactions, informed CBI.

The CBI has lodged the FIR under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused persons.