CBI arrests group GM of a railway entity while taking bribe

The CBI on Saturday arrested a senior official of the RITES Limited, a railway entity, while allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from a representative of an infrastructure company, officials said here.

The arrested official, K. Venkateshwara Rao, is the Group General Manager (Civil) at Secunderabad project office of the RITES Ltd, a Central government enterprise under the aegis of the Indian Railways which offers consultancy services in the fields of transport, infrastructure and related technology.

Shankar, the Project Manager of Tamil Nadu-based KVR Infrastructure Ltd, who came to deliver the alleged bribe money was also arrested by the agency, the officials said.

It is alleged that Rao had demanded the bribe of Rs 15 Lakh to clear pending bills to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore out of a total contract value of Rs 11 crore of the said private firm.

"Searches are being conducted at the official and residential premises of the accused and hotel room of Shankar," a CBI spokesperson said.