CBI books railway officials, private company for using old demonetised notes

New Delhi: The CBI has booked two North Central Railway officials, an assistant divisional finance manager and a cashier, for allegedly allowing a private company to deposit Rs 32 lakh in old demonetised notes. [caption id=“attachment_2826864” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] According to the CBI FIR, Vishakha Facilities Management Pvt Ltd was awarded a contract amounting Rs 6.42 crore on 19 October last for mechanised cleaning of train coaches en route to Kanpur Station for three years. The company had to deposit performance guarantee of five per cent of the contract amount within a month, which it did not do till 16 November, the FIR alleged. By then, Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes had ceased to be legal tenders, following the announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 November. The railways also through an order dated 9 November had stopped accepting these notes. It is alleged that the authorised signatory of the company entered into a criminal conspiracy with MH Ansari, then assistant divisional finance manager of North Central Railway (Allahabad), Madan Mohan Yadav, then divisional cashier and other unidentified persons. The FIR added that the company representative allegedly submitted a letter addressed to senior divisional finance manager to deposit Rs 32.10 lakh in cash as performance guarantee which was acknowledged by Ansari who marked it to Yadav. The representative deposited Rs 32.10 lakh in old currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500. According to the CBI, Ansari and Yadav abused their official position as public servant and in connivance with the company cheated the central government by depositing the performance guarantee in old invalidated currency notes thus allowing undue pecuniary gains to the company.