Major Corruption Scandal in Indian Railways: CBI Arrests Chief Engineer of South East Central Railway and Three Others for Accepting Rs 32 Lakh Bribe
Raipur/New Delhi: A massive corruption case has come to light in the South East Central Railway, Bilaspur. On April 25, 2025, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a senior railway official (IRSE: 2000 batch), his family member, the Managing Director of a private firm, and an employee of the firm after catching them red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 32 lakh.
According to the CBI, the Chief Engineer accepted bribes in exchange for granting undue favours to a private company in railway contracts and work orders. As per instructions from the engineer, the bribe amount was received in Ranchi by a close family member, who was caught red-handed by a CBI team. The full bribe amount was recovered from his possession.
A case has been registered against the Chief Engineer, his family member, the Managing Director of the private firm, and one of the firm’s employees under charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption.
Investigations revealed that the private company was involved in several construction projects for South East Central Railway, including minor and major bridges, Railway Over Bridges (ROB), Railway Under Bridges (RUB), track lining, and capacity enhancement works. On April 21, 2025, the MD informed his son that a bribe amount of Rs 32 lakh had been finalized after a meeting with the Chief Engineer to get pending matters cleared in favour of the company.
Following this, the MD instructed one of his employees to deliver the bribe to the engineer’s family member in Ranchi, the native town of the public servant. CBI laid a trap and apprehended the accused right after the transaction took place.
Search operations are currently underway in Bilaspur and Ranchi. During the raids, several incriminating documents and a significant amount of cash have been recovered.
The investigation is ongoing, and more revelations are expected in this high-profile corruption case.
