10 March,2026 08:08 PM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The CBI laid a trap and caught the engineer after he allegedly accepted Rs 10 lakh. Representational pic
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a senior officer of the Indian Railway Services of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) posted with Central Railway, along with two private persons, in connection with an alleged bribery case linked to a railway tender worth Rs 40.54 crore.
According to the agency, the case was registered on Monday against Ramesh Kumar Chauve, a chief electrical distribution engineer with Central Railway and a 2003-batch IRSEE officer, along with others.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in the award of a tender valued at Rs 40.54 crore to a private company. According to CBI, the accused officer acted in connivance with stakeholders of the private firm and demanded a bribe of Rs 40 lakh - around one per cent of the tender value - in exchange for favouring the company in the tender process.
The agency laid a trap and nabbed Chauve after he allegedly accepted Rs 10 lakh as part of the bribe from a private person. The agency said the bribe amount of Rs 10 lakh was recovered from the officer's chamber.
Along with the railway officer, two private individuals - Anshul Varma and Kanay Varma - were also arrested in connection with the case.
Following the arrests, the CBI conducted searches at five locations, including premises in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Karjat linked to the accused persons.
During the searches at the residence of the railway officer, investigators recovered Rs 90.79 lakh in cash along with gold jewellery weighing 241.30 grams and silver jewellery weighing 2,577 grams, collectively valued at around Rs 42.52 lakh. The agency also seized documents related to investments.
Additionally, cash amounting to Rs 3.85 lakh was recovered from the officer's office chamber. The total seizure in the case is estimated to be worth about Rs 1.47 crore.
The agency also recovered other incriminating documents during the searches. Further investigation in the case is underway.
