The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) made a major breakthrough today when they arrested Saurabh Prasad, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of East Coast Railways (Waltair Division), along with two others in connection with a bribery case. It is reported that Prasad was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of ₹25 lakh from Sanil Rathod, the owner of a private firm based in Mumbai. Anand Bhagat, the owner of another private firm in Pune, was also apprehended in relation to the case.
During the investigation, the CBI recovered a whopping ₹87.6 lakh in cash, jewellery worth around ₹72 lakh, property documents, locker keys, and other incriminating evidence from the accused’s premises. The alleged bribery was said to be in exchange for reducing a penalty imposed on a private company for underperforming in contracts awarded by East Coast Railways. These contracts were being executed by Rathod and Bhagat’s respective companies.
The CBI registered a case against DRM Saurabh Prasad, the two private firm owners, and others on charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption. It was revealed that bills amounting to ₹3.17 crore raised by the private firm were pending with East Coast Railways due to delays in contract execution. Rathod and Bhagat allegedly approached Prasad to reduce the penalty, who demanded a bribe of ₹25 lakh in return.
After the intervention of the DRM, the penalty amount was reduced, and the bill was cleared. Rathod arranged to pay the bribe during Prasad’s visit to Mumbai on 16th November 2024, leading to their arrests by the CBI. Searches at Prasad’s residence in Visakhapatnam yielded a substantial amount of cash, jewellery, property documents, locker keys, and bank balances, including investments in assets like a flat in Kalyan.
The investigation into this bribery case is still ongoing, with more details expected to emerge in the coming days.
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