Hyderabad: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against contractor J Rathnakar and unidentified officials of South Central Railway (SCR) over alleged irregularities in a railway track maintenance contract in the Kazipet-Kondapally and Motumari-Janpahad sections. The FIR was based on findings that forged records, inflated manpower claims, and fraudulent EPF payments were used to siphon off public funds.The investigation centres around an agreement from June 2023 under which the contractor was assigned gangway work in the Madhira subdivision. Initially approved for 1,480 gangdays, the contract was later revised to 2,185. However, it has now emerged that although 80 workers were shown as paid 12,000 each per month, actual manpower on the ground was only 48. Some names appeared in attendance registers but were absent from salary statements, and uniform salary disbursal was falsely reported.Further, forged EPF payment records were submitted to claim higher reimbursements. A payment confirmation receipt, bearing a specific number, was shown as generated on Sept 13, 2024, for 86 workers for the Aug wage month. But the same number was legitimately used earlier in May for April wages. Records show that only five members were actually covered under EPF for Aug, exposing a fraudulent claim of 2.1 lakh. Bank stamps on the forged EPF records were also found to be inconsistent with the issuing branch’s practices.The tender’s clauses specifically included EPF, ESI, and GST components in the rate analysis. However, SCR officials allegedly facilitated inflated payments despite false documentation, causing loss to the exchequer.Following consent from the Telangana govt and the Centre’s notification on May 9, 2025, the CBI registered an FIR under multiple sections of IPC and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
