CBI court awards 5-year rigorous imprisonment to ex-railway official in bribery case

Jaipur, April 7: A special CBI court here has sentenced former Western Central Railway employee Jalandhar Yogi, posted in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district, to five years of rigorous imprisonment in a bribery case, officials said on Tuesday.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the accused, holding him guilty of demanding and accepting illegal gratification from a complainant in exchange for clearing a pending bill.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the case was registered on June 16, 2020, following allegations that Yogi had demanded a bribe of Rs 11,500 to process and clear the final bill for work completed by the complainant.

After verifying the complaint, the agency laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed while accepting Rs 10,000 as a bribe. The tainted money was recovered from his possession at the time of arrest, officials said.

The accused was posted as Chief Office Superintendent (CoS) in the office of the Assistant Engineer (AEN), Western Central Railways, Gangapur City, in Sawai Madhopur when the offence took place.

Following a detailed investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet against Yogi on January 8, 2021, under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The conviction highlights the agency’s continued efforts to curb corruption in public offices and ensure accountability among government officials.

In a separate but similar crackdown, the Central Bureau of Investigation recently apprehended a railway official in Jharkhand in connection with a bribery case. The accused, identified as Himanshu Shekhar, was serving as Chief Commercial Inspector (CCI) of South Eastern Railway in Ranchi.

The CBI reiterated its commitment to taking strict action against those involved in corrupt practices, particularly cases involving abuse of official position for personal gain.

--IANS