CBI Arrests Railway Engineer in Vijayawada While Accepting ₹15 Lakh Bribe
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Senior Section Engineer of South Central Railway in Vijayawada and a private individual for allegedly accepting a ₹15 lakh bribe linked to the sanction and release of a bonus claim worth around ₹7 crore. The arrests were made on August 16, 2026, after the CBI laid a trap and caught the railway engineer red-handed while allegedly accepting the bribe.
According to the CBI, the arrested railway official is Bapiraju, Senior Section Engineer in the office of the Chief Signal and Telecommunications Engineer (CSTE) Projects, South Central Railway, Vijayawada. The second accused has been identified as Srichand, son of the Managing Director of M/s Yella Constructions Pvt. Ltd.
The case relates to an Automatic Block Signalling project awarded by South Central Railway to a joint venture of M/s Ganapathi Engineering Works and M/s Yella Constructions Pvt. Ltd. The project was valued at approximately ₹179.50 crore. The joint venture had reportedly claimed a bonus of around ₹7 crore for completing the work ahead of the scheduled deadline.
The CBI alleged that officials associated with the CSTE Projects office at Vijayawada manipulated or altered dates in the bonus-related file in order to extend undue favour to the joint venture and facilitate approval of its bonus claim.
The agency further alleged that the ₹15 lakh bribe was being paid as a reward for sanctioning and releasing the bonus amount. According to investigators, the Managing Director of the private company had informed the accused railway engineer that his son would deliver the bribe while travelling to Vijayawada from Visakhapatnam.
Acting on this information, the CBI laid a trap on August 16. The railway engineer was allegedly caught red-handed while accepting ₹15 lakh from the private person. The entire bribe amount was recovered during the trap operation.
The CBI registered a case on August 16 against the Senior Section Engineer, four representatives of private companies, and other unknown public servants and private persons in connection with the alleged demand and acceptance of the bribe. The agency is examining the role of officials and private individuals allegedly involved in the manipulation of records and processing of the bonus claim.
Following the arrests, CBI teams launched searches at premises linked to the accused in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Pithapuram and Hyderabad. The searches are expected to focus on official project records, the bonus claim file, company documents, financial transactions and other material that could establish the alleged bribery network.
The two arrested accused were scheduled to be produced before the competent court in Vijayawada on August 17, 2026.
The investigation remains underway. The CBI is probing whether other railway officials or private individuals were involved in the alleged manipulation of the bonus claim and the payment of the bribe. Further details are expected to emerge as investigators examine documents and evidence recovered during the searches.
The allegations are part of an ongoing investigation, and the accused are presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a court of law.
