CBI raids Khudiya Colliery in Dhanbad, arrests two ECL staff for taking bribe

Dhanbad, March 31 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested PF clerk Arvind Kumar Rai and employee Sheetal Bauri after they were caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 at Eastern Coalfields Ltd’s (ECL) Khudiya Colliery in Dhanbad’s Mugma Area, officials said.

The duo was allegedly demanding money in exchange for processing the provident fund (PF) and gratuity paperwork of a retiring employee.

Umesh Prasad Singh, an employee in the Electrical Department of Khudiya Colliery, was set to retire on Monday (March 31). As part of his retirement formalities, he had applied for his PF and gratuity.

However, Arvind Kumar Rai, responsible for handling PF-related matters in the personnel department, allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000 to clear his file.

Unwilling to comply with the illegal demand, Singh approached the CBI office in Dhanbad and lodged a complaint.

After verifying the allegations, the CBI devised a plan to trap the accused.

As part of the sting operation, Singh arranged to hand over the bribe amount to Rai on Monday. However, instead of taking the money directly, Rai instructed his subordinate, Sheetal Bauri, to collect it on his behalf.

Singh handed Rs 15,000 to Bauri, who then proceeded to pass it to Rai. At that moment, the CBI team, which was closely monitoring the monetary exchange, intervened and arrested both employees on the spot.

Following the arrests, the CBI took two other employees from the personnel department, Shankar Chauhan and Ajay Kumar Mandal, for questioning at ECL’s Mugma Area Guest House.

Investigators also seized office files, a printer, and mobile phones belonging to the accused as part of the probe.

This incident adds to a growing list of bribery-related arrests in Jharkhand. Over the past 35 days, nine persons have been apprehended by the state and Central investigative agencies in various corruption cases.

–IANS

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