CBI arrests senior railway official, tout in job racket

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) CBI in Mumbai has arrested a senior Railway official and a tout for allegedly getting aspirants jobs in the country's largest government undertaking in lieu of hefty bribes arranged through political connections. The arrested officer has been identified by the agency as Rammani Tripathi, senior Technician in Central Railway and Assistant Secretary in CRMS and the alleged middleman as Balaji Shelke Patil. The duo was produced before a court in Mumbai and were remanded in police custody till January 13. "Two cases were registered (by the agency in Mumbai) against Tripathi for demanding bribes of Rs five lakh each from two complainants for allegedly arranging them the job of Ticket Collector in the Railways from VIP quota through some senior Railway officers/politician at New Delhi. "CBI laid a trap and Tripathi was caught while demanding and accepting bribes of Rs 2 lakh each from the complainants as a part payment," a CBI spokesperson said here. According to CBI, during initial investigation, Tripathi disclosed the name of a middleman for arranging jobs in the Railways and the bribe amount had to be delivered to him. The middleman, identified as Patil, was also apprehended while accepting the amount from the accused, the spokesperson said. CBI claimed that Patil allegedly had links with some persons in Delhi with whom he had tie-ups for arranging such jobs after heavy amounts as bribe. "It is also alleged that touts are operating at Railway Ministry who promise jobs at Railway for a price," the spokesperson added. Further probe is on in the case, the spokesperson added.