The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer of South East Central Railway (SECR), Bhilai, in connection with an alleged bribery case, officials said on Saturday.
According to the agency, the officer, who belongs to the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers, allegedly demanded a bribe from a complainant in exchange for clearing pending bills. The CBI registered the case on August 13 after receiving allegations that the officer had demanded ₹2 lakh.
Following negotiations, the alleged bribe amount was reduced to ₹1 lakh. The CBI subsequently laid a trap and caught the officer while he was allegedly accepting ₹50,000, described as the first instalment of the bribe. The money was reportedly handed over through a middleman acting on the officer’s instructions. The alleged intermediary was also arrested.
After the arrests, CBI teams conducted searches at the officer’s residential and official premises in Raipur and Bhilai. During the searches, investigators reportedly recovered around ₹77 lakh in cash and jewellery valued at approximately ₹14 lakh. The recovery is now part of the agency’s ongoing investigation.
The officer and the alleged middleman were arrested on August 14 and produced before the competent court. The court subsequently granted four days of police custody to facilitate further investigation.
The CBI is examining the source of the recovered cash and jewellery, along with other financial and documentary evidence gathered during the searches. Investigators are also looking into the circumstances surrounding the alleged demand for the bribe and whether anyone else was involved.
The case comes amid increased CBI action against alleged corruption in the Indian Railways. The agency has recently taken action in several bribery cases involving railway officials in different parts of the country.
The investigation into the SECR officer remains underway. The allegations are yet to be tested in court, and the accused will have the opportunity to present their defence through the legal process.
