CBI Nabs Railway Engineers and Contractors in Varanasi Bribery Bust

The CBI has arrested five individuals, including railway officials and private company employees, in a bribery case linked to the Gati Shakti Project in Varanasi. Authorities recovered substantial bribe amounts from the accused, highlighting corruption within the Northern Railway's Gati Sakti Unit and associated contractors.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has apprehended five individuals, including key railway officials and two private company employees, as part of a corruption probe concerning the Gati Shakti Project in Varanasi. The arrests were announced in a CBI press release on Tuesday.

According to the statement, those detained include the Deputy Chief Engineer from the Gati Sakti Unit, Northern Railway in Lucknow, along with a Senior Selection Engineer and an Officer Superintendent from Northern Railway's Lucknow branch. The investigation revealed that a private company, contracted for work under the Gati Shakti Project at Bhadhoi, Varanasi, was involved in the bribery scheme.

The probe uncovered that the Dy Chief Engineer accepted a total of Rs 2.50 lakh as an undue advantage from a private company employee, who had previously delivered Rs 80,000 to the Officer Superintendent. The arrests underline growing concerns of graft within the Northern Railway infrastructure projects.

(With inputs from agencies.)