CBI nabs two Northern Railway officials taking bribe for processing pension

Lucknow, Jan 28 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two officials of Northern Railway, Lucknow, for allegedly accepting a bribe during the processing of a pension claim, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The arrested officials include Akash Tyagi, an Accountant in the Office of Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Northern Railway, and Akshay Srivastava, Assistant Divisional Finance Manager (ADFM), DRM, Lucknow. Both were caught red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 70,000 from a complainant on Tuesday, the statement added.

According to CBI, the case was registered on Tuesday against the accused Accountant and unknown others based on a complaint. The complainant alleged that for processing the pension of his aunt, the accused had demanded Rs 1,00,000 after generation of the Pension Payment Order (PPO) and a further Rs 2,50,000 upon settlement of the claim amount.

Acting swiftly, the CBI laid a trap and intercepted the officials while they were accepting the part-payment of Rs 70,000.

The CBI confirmed that both officials have been arrested and will be produced before the competent court in Lucknow. The agency has stated that further investigations are underway to identify any other individuals involved in the bribery case.

This case highlights continuing concerns over corruption in public offices, especially in the processing of pension claims, which directly affect retired employees.

The CBI recently arrested a Sales Officer of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), posted in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a complainant in connection with the handover of an HPCL retail outlet.

Earlier, the CBI arrested two public servants from the Revenue Department in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on January 16 for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a complainant.

The CBI actively investigates bribery cases, leading to convictions of public servants and private individuals, including imprisonment and hefty fines.