Court summons locomotive works officer, 2 firm directors in graft case
Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 16
Special Judge, PMLA Court, Chandigarh, has summoned Ravi Sekhar Sinha, Principal Chief Material Manager of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, and two directors of Chandigarh-based company EC Blades and Tools Pvt Ltd to face trial for commission of offence punishable under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in a bribery case registered by the CBI two years ago.
The CBI had arrested Sinha while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1.80 lakh in February 2022. The ED had filed the complaint under Sections 44, 45 and 34 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against the accused.
The PMLA court in the order says that “from the perusal of the detailed facts as mentioned in the complaint, a case for commission of offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 read with 70 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, is made out against the accused. M/s EC Blades & Tools Private Limited, its directors Sonu Arora, Rajan Gupta and Ravi Shekhar, and Sinha are hereby summoned on October 4,” the order said.
The CBI had registered the case against the accused in February 2022. As per the FIR, the abovesaid company based in Chandigarh was awarded the contract for the supply of 28 sets of coach frames on December 14, 2021, to Chittaranjan Locomotive Works of the Indian Railways. The CBI alleged that Arora and Gupta being directors of the company allegedly used the services of accused Praveen Vyas for contacting the officers of the locomotive works for giving bribe as demanded by them in lieu of the award of contract and enhancing the quantity of material to be supplied.
The CBI teams laid a trap at the locomotive works, where the bribe amount was to be delivered to Sinha, and apprehended him while allegedly accepting it.
On completion of investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet against the five. The ED claims that during investigation it was revealed that the company was directly involved in the offence of money laundering through its directors. They gave a bribe of Rs 1,80 lakh to Sinha and acquired wrongful gains in the form of enhanced supply order. The court said in view of this a case for commission of offence of money laundering should be filed against the accused.
Company was to give 28 sets of coach frames
As per the FIR, Chandigarh-based company EC Blades and Tools Pvt Ltd was awarded the contract for the supply of 28 sets of coach frames on December 14, 2021, to Chittaranjan Locomotive Works of the Indian Railways. The CBI alleged that Sonu Arora and Rajan Gupta being directors of the company allegedly used the services of accused Praveen Vyas for contacting the officers of the locomotive works for giving bribe as ‘demanded’ by them in lieu of the award of contract
