The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday registered a fresh case against a businessman, who was earlier arrested by the agency for the alleged corruption in supply of packaged drinking water in
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday registered a fresh case against a businessman, who was earlier arrested by the agency for the alleged corruption in supply of packaged drinking water in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and other superfast trains, and two of his sons for alleged possession and use of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) worth Rs 33,500.
Sources said, “The agency sleuths seized FICNs worth Rs 33,500 during the searches carried out last October at the premises of businessman Sharan Bihari Agrawal after the agency had booked him, along with two railway officials, last October for alleged supply of cheap packaged drinking water other than ‘Rail Neer,’ which is mandatory in premium trains, including Rajdhani and Shatabdi.”.
Agrawal and two officials had been arrested after the CBI recovered Rs 27 crore cash — of which the alleged FICNs were a part of — from his and sons’ (Abhishek and Rahul) possession. Both the officials were immediately suspended after the CBI carried out searches at their residences on October 17, 2015.
Earlier, the CBI registered a case against two railway officials and seven private companies — RK Associates Pvt Ltd, Satyam Caterers Pvt Ltd, Ambuj Hotel and Real Estate, PK Associates Pvt Ltd, Sunsine Pvt Ltd, Brandavan Food Product and Food World-under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. It is alleged that the accused public servants officials had shown favour to these private firms in supply of cheap packaged drinking water other than “Rail Neer” in trains including Rajdhani and Shatabdi.
CBI had said that the Railway Board had prescribed that IRCTC will provide Rail Neer at the rate of around Rs 10.50 per bottle to private caterers and they would be paid (approx) Rs 15 per bottle for supplying the same to the passengers in premium trains. However, in order to make undue gains, the private suppliers were allegedly supplying cheap packaged water, other than ‘Rail Neer’, available in the market at a rate of Rs 5.70 to Rs 7 (approx) per bottle, thereby making profits for themselves and loss to the exchequer. “The accused public servants allegedly did not take any action against the private parties providing catering services in premium trains despite repeatedly being informed by IRCTC about non-picking of allotted quota of ‘Rail Neer’ by them,” said a senior official of the CBI.
