The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Jabalpur, arrested a Senior Section Engineer of West Central Railway's New Katni Junction on Friday for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 45,000. The accused, identified as Ajayveer Singh, was posted as Senior Section Engineer (Electric-M) at New Katni Junction. According to the CBI, the case was registered on Thursday, following a complaint by Shashank Kushwaha, a railway contractor residing in Shyam Mukherjee Ward, Katni. The complainant alleged that the engineer had demanded Rs 1,500 per labourer for allowing 30 workers engaged by him to continue working at the railway station, amounting to a total bribe of Rs 45,000. The complaint was verified on November 4 by CBI Sub-Inspector Ayush Kumar in the presence of an independent witness, during which the demand for the bribe was confirmed. Subsequently, a case was registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

 

Before the trap operation, preparations were made at Katni Police Lines in the presence of independent witnesses. The complainant’s father, Tejram Kushwaha, provided 90 currency notes of Rs 500 denomination, amounting to Rs 45,000, for the operation. The CBI team laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed while accepting the money from Tejram Kushwaha in Katni. The bribe amount was recovered from him. Following his arrest, the accused underwent a medical examination at a Government hospital before being produced before the competent CBI court in Jabalpur on Friday. The court remanded him to judicial custody until November 12. Searches were also conducted at his residence and office to collect incriminating documents and other evidence and further investigation is underway.