New Delhi. Senior officials of the Indian Railways on Monday termed the incident as shameful and unfortunate, a few days after the arrest of five railway officials, including the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of South Central Railway, on charges of bribery. The CBI arrested the accused on July 5, 2024. They were accused of allegedly taking huge bribes for “allocation of various tenders, execution of allotted works and prompt settlement of bills”. The Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of South Central Railway said that the matter is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Apart from DRM Vineet Singh, other senior officials, Senior Divisional Finance Manager Kunda Pradeep Babu and Senior Divisional Engineer U Akki Reddy were also arrested.
The CBI said in a statement that the federal agency, based on a tip-off, prepared a list of the jewellery taken by Singh as bribe and searched his residential premises on July 4 and July 5, 2024. A diamond-studded necklace and a pair of diamond-studded earrings were recovered. When asked about other items, “Vineet Singh told that he hid the said item behind a part of the washbasin pedestal of the toilet attached to a room adjoining the main bedroom and he showed the place to all the people present where he had hidden the item,” the statement said.
The officials confiscated the recovered items. A DRM currently posted in one of the divisions said, “A DRM level railway officer handles projects worth several crores of rupees in the division. Besides, he gets a very good salary and allowances. I fail to understand what compelled him to indulge in such corrupt practices.” Another DRM said, “It is rare in the history of railways that a DRM has been arrested for demanding bribe for awarding contracts. I would call it shameful and unfortunate.”
Meanwhile, railway employees unions are shocked at Singh's sudden transfer from Sambalpur Railway Division to Guntakal in January 2024. National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) general secretary M Raghavaiya said, “The arrested DRM Vineet Singh was transferred from Sambalpur Railway Division (East Coast Zone) to Guntakal Division (South Central Railway) in January 2024. It was very surprising to know that Singh replaced Manish Agarwal, who had completed only six months in Guntakal. He had not even completed a year. I don't know what was the compulsion for this sudden transfer?'' According to railway officials, a DRM normally serves his tenure for two years in a division.
Disclaimer: Sarkari Result Daily has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
