CBI nabs EPFO officers, consultant from Baddi for taking Rs 10-lakh bribe

Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (RPFC), Enforcement Officer (EO) of Employee Provident Fund Organisation’s Baddi branch and a consultant were arrested last evening from Baddi by the Central Bureau of India (CBI) for accepting Rs 10-lakh bribe from a complainant belonging to Parwanoo firm.

The CBI had registered an FIR on November 24 under Sections 61(2) of the BNS and under Sections 7 and 7A of The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, besides criminal conspiracy against the EO, the consultant and an unknown EPFO officer at Shimla. It was alleged that the EO demanded Rs 10 lakh through the consultant for himself and other senior officers to settle a provident fund matter, which pertained to a firm, engaged in manufacturing chemical clearing products, at Sector 1 area of Parwanoo.

The said matter was pending with the Baddi EPFO since 2019. The firm was given a notice in 2019, under Section 7A of the relevant act, and the client was summoned to Nahan and Baddi several times where various documents were sought. Nahan Regional Commissioner was holding the additional charge of Baddi Regional Commissioner. Fed up with the prolonged delay in settlement, the firm management approached a consultant, Sanjay Yadav, at Baddi to amicably settle the issue while authorising him for the same.

The CBI laid a trap and caught the consultant last evening from Baddi while demanding and accepting Rs 10 lakh from the complainant on behalf of the accused EO Madan Lal Bhati and RPFC, whose role emerged during the trap proceedings. All three accused were produced before the court of CBI Special Judge in Shimla today.

Meanwhile, searches were conducted by a nine-member CBI team at seven locations (residential and official premises) of the accused in Baddi, Shimla and Chandigarh. Cash amounting to Rs 23.5 lakh and incriminating documents were recovered from the RPFC premises in Chandigarh, informed a CBI official.