Caught Red-Handed: Two EPFO Officials Nabbed In Surat Taking Bribe of Rs 5 Lakh

Surat: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested two officials of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) who were caught accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a developer in the regional office of EPFO in Vapi, an official said on Thursday. 

According to officials, the accused officials had demanded Rs 8 lakh to settle a case and Rs 5 lakh of that amount was to be paid in advance.

EPFO Officials Demanded Bribe To Settle Case 

The accused officials have been identified as Harshad Lakhuji working as Assistant PF commissioner and one enforcement officer. 

“The accused had called the complainant to Parmar's office to pay the money. Parmar is a Class I officer, while Tomar is a Class II officer. The EPFO regional office is located at Snehdeep Complex in Vapi.The complainant developer has 25 employees but he had not taken any step towards the mandatory contribution of provident fund by his employees,” officials said. 

The complainant received a notice from the EPFO office, where the case is currently under review in Vapi. In an effort to expedite the hearing and minimize the fine, the developer approached the officials. The officials, however, demanded Rs 5 lakh. The final hearing regarding the fine is still pending.

CBI Books Deputy Director For Demanding Rs 2 Crore Bribe In Mumbai

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, an official working as Deputy Director at Registrar of Companies, Mumbai has been booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly seeking Rs 2 crore bribe for preparing a favourable report for a company under investigation, officials said on Thursday.

The probe agency conducted the search operation at the premises of Sai Shankar Landa (accused in the case) in Mumbai and his native place in Vishakhapatnam on Wednesday.

The CBI's action followed a complaint from a businessman whose company was being investigated by the RoC Mumbai. The FIR alleged that a bribe of Rs 2 crore was paid to prepare a favorable report in the ongoing investigation into his company at the RoC Mumbai.