The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) apprehended an Enforcement Officer from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) District Office in Patiala for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh from an individual under investigation. The case was filed promptly by the CBI on July 22 against the said Enforcement Officer of EPFO.
The complaint stated that the client of the complainant, an EPF consultant, was under scrutiny pursuant to Section 7A of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, by EPFO authorities. Despite the complainant submitting all necessary documents to the EPFO department, the accused threatened to file an adverse report suggesting significant penalties against the complainant’s client.
The accused Enforcement Officer then demanded a bribe of Rs 4 lakh during a meeting at the EPFO Regional Office in Chandigarh on July 21 for closing the inquiry against the client with minimal penalties. The CBI, in response, set up a trap on July 22, leading to the arrest of the accused while accepting a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh from the complainant. Following the arrest, the accused was presented before a court in Chandigarh, where he was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
In a separate development, the CBI conducted searches at various locations in Chandigarh and Ludhiana concerning the misappropriation of funds from IDFC First Bank accounts of Chandigarh Smart City Ltd (CSCL) and Municipal Corporation Chandigarh. The searches encompassed five locations, including residential premises and businesses of suspected beneficiaries linked to the defrauded funds, former accountant Anubhav Mishra, and private entities associated with the investigation. Numerous incriminating documents and items, such as digital evidence, property-related papers, financial records, electronic devices, and other pertinent documents, were seized during the searches. The seized materials are presently under examination and analysis as part of the ongoing probe.
