New Delhi (Agency): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s primary federal investigative agency, has lodged a new bribery case against Santosh Kumar, a Senior Section Engineer for the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). This comes after Kumar was arrested earlier this year in connection to a ₹2 crore bribe case. The latest charges accuse him of accepting a bribe amounting to ₹75 lakh.
The CBI’s allegations suggest that Bhartia Infra Projects Limited (BIPL), a company involved in constructing and maintaining railway infrastructure like tracks, bridges, tunnels, and stations, was granted 106 contracts in the Northeast region between 2010 and 2023. During this period, Kumar oversaw BIPL’s work as he was positioned at the Deputy Chief Engineer, Construction-II, Northeast Frontier Railway office in Silchar.
Further investigation into Kumar, who is currently suspended, revealed questionable monetary transfers. The CBI discovered that ₹75 lakh was transferred into the accounts of Kumar’s family members from BIPL’s accounts. The agency claimed that Kumar received these funds as an “undue advantage” from various BIPL accounts in State Bank of India, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank. The money was transferred to his father, Ambika Saw, and wife, Pushpa Kumari, in exchange for the smooth approval of contract bills between 2019 and 2022. As a result, the agency has now filed charges against Saw, Kumari, and BIPL, alongside Kumar.
Kumar began his career with the railways as a Junior Engineer in Silchar in 2009. After completing his training, he was promoted to the position of Senior Section Engineer (SSE) and moved to the Deputy Chief Engineer Construction office in 2019. He stayed in this position until his arrest in February.
In a previous case in February, the CBI arrested Kumar while he was allegedly receiving a partial payment of ₹8 lakh out of a total bribe of ₹2 crore from a construction company. His superior, Deputy Chief Engineer Rampal, was also arrested in the operation, followed by searches at 19 different locations.