Silchar: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Senior Section Engineer (SSE) of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in Silchar for allegedly demanding and accepting an illegal bribe from a local contractor.
The accused official, identified as Kuntal Chakraborty, who was serving in the railway’s Carriage and Wagon (C&W) Department, was caught red-handed during a meticulously planned trap operation orchestrated by the anti-corruption agency.
According to official sources, the case was registered following a formal complaint from an independent contractor. The complainant revealed that a pending bill worth approximately ₹20 lakh, relating to structural works already executed for the railway department, was being deliberately withheld from clearance by the accused official.
When the contractor approached the engineer to request the processing of his outstanding dues, the official allegedly demanded a fixed commission of one per cent of the total bill value, amounting to ₹20,000, as a prerequisite for clearing the file.
Following the complaint, the CBI verified the allegations and laid a tactical trap. The engineer was apprehended at the exact moment he accepted the marked currency notes. Simultaneous search operations were launched at his residential premises to recover further incriminating documents. The arrested official is scheduled to be produced before the Special CBI Court in Guwahati as investigations continue.