CBI Investigates Railway Officials for Corruption in Gati Shakti Project

Swift Summary

• Incident: Teh CBI has filed an FIR against senior officials from Northern Railways (Lucknow) and North Eastern Railway (Varanasi) over alleged corruption linked to the Gati Shakti project.
• Accusations: Officials reportedly permitted inflated bills from a contractor in exchange for bribes, as cited by CBI investigations.
• Project Details: The Gati Shakti project in Bhadohi was granted to Praveen Kumar Singh of Tangent Infratech Pvt Limited and Sikander Ali.
• Key Individuals: Vivek Kushwaha, Deputy Chief Engineer of Gati Shakti (Northern Railways), allegedly supervised the misconduct. Others named include Senior Divisional Engineer Rakesh Ranjan, Office Superintendent Manish, Senior Section Engineer Abhishek Gupta, Accounts Section Head Yogesh Gupta, and Senior clerk Sushil Kumar Rai.
• Bribes Reported: Instances include ₹2 lakh paid by company employee Jimmy Singh to engineer Rakesh Ranjan in June 2025; ₹50,000 paid to Abhishek Gupta earlier this year; routine payments facilitated for bill processing.

Indian Opinion Analysis

this case highlights systemic challenges concerning governance within high-profile infrastructure projects such as Gati Shakti-a flagship initiative aimed at improving connectivity across India. Allegations of bribery and financial irregularities risk undermining public trust in such significant reforms.While the examination targets specific individuals within Railway departments and contractors involved in Bhadohi’s project implementation, broader implications could surface regarding oversight mechanisms across large-scale government ventures.The naming of multiple officials suggests entrenched practices rather than isolated incidents. Strengthened accountability frameworks may be required to ensure ethical conduct among public servants. Moreover, this situation places renewed focus on internal auditing processes within institutions like the Indian Railways-key players in facilitating national development projects.For further details: Link