Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against eight railway officials, including Chief Yard Master and two private individuals, for allegedly indulging in malpractices. The CBI received information that officials from the Chief Yard Master's office were allowing extra time to private vendors for loading and unloading parcels, thereby causing wrongful gain to these vendors.
It was further alleged that, in exchange for allowing extra time, public servants received undue advantages in the form of bribe money from the vendors through UPI transactions and also in cash. Additionally, several suspected private vendors were sending money to the station managers, either directly or through Pointsmen.
List of people booked
Those booked by the CBI are Pranay Mukund, Chief Yard Master, Girdhari Lal Saini, Dy. Station Manager (Yard), Pradeep Gautam, Dy. Station Manager (Yard), Mithai Lal Yadav, Shunting Master, Rakesh Karande, Shunting Master, Jayant Maurya, Dy. Station Manager (Yard), Mithlesh Kumar, Pointsman Chief Yard Master office, Raunit Raj, Pointsman Chief Yard Master office, LTT, and private individuals Ramdeep Giri and Suryabhan Dipankar.
LTT station is a terminating and originating train station under Central Railways. Hence, there is loading and unloading of parcels for the purpose of transportation of goods/parcels. Here, parcels are unloaded from the trains that terminate, and parcels are loaded onto the originating trains. Private vendors, under the supervision of station managers, load and unload the goods and parcels, while Pointsmen are responsible for the movement of parcel vans to the shed for this purpose. Appropriate time is given to these vendors for loading/unloading parcels/goods by the station managers. If vendors take more than the allocated time for loading/unloading parcels/goods from parcel vans, demurrage/wharfage charges are levied on them.
Surprise inspection
According to the CBI, after receiving information about the alleged malpractices, a surprise check was conducted on Monday and Tuesday at the office of the Chief Yard Manager, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Central Railway, Mumbai Division. During the check, it was revealed that the Chief Yard Manager's office placed Valuable Parcel Vans (VPUs) for the transportation of parcels/goods by trains to other outstations. The Chief Yard Master shunts the VPU and places it on the platform for loading parcels/goods. Upon doing so, the Chief Yard Master issues a placement memo (mentioning date and time) to the Chief Parcel Supervisor, who receives the memo and hands over the VPU to the leaseholders for loading parcels. The leaseholders are given a fixed three hours for loading/unloading parcels. After three hours, if the loading/unloading is not completed, demurrage/wharfage charges are levied on the leaseholders. Once parcels are loaded into VPUs, they are sealed and then shunted and attached to the train.
"During the check, it was revealed that Mithlesh Kumar and Raunit Raj received money from the leaseholders/private individuals or their representatives, Giri and Dipankar. Mithlesh Kumar and Raunit Raj showed their UPI transactions with leaseholders/private individuals, and it was observed that credit entries were reflected in their UPI accounts. It was also observed that they further transferred money to their superior officers and colleagues through UPI. Mithlesh Kumar and Raunit Raj admitted that, on the directions of their superior officers Pranay Mukund, Girdhari Lal Saini, Pradeep Gautam, Mithai Lal Yadav, Rakesh Karande, Jayant Maurya, and other officers from the office of Chief Yard Master, they used to collect bribe money through UPI or in cash from leaseholders/private individuals or their representatives in exchange for expediting and facilitating the early placement process of Valuable Parcel Vans (VPUs) on the platform for loading/unloading parcels/goods. Suspicious credit entries from the accounts of suspected public servants were also revealed, originating from the accounts of leaseholders/private individuals," said a CBI official
