CBI books railway doctor, two loco pilots in bribery case

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Visakhapatnam, has registered an FIR against a railway doctor and two loco pilots in connection with the alleged bribery case involving the issuance of favourable medical reports. 

Officials claimed this is just the tip of the iceberg of “widespread corruption across railway zones”, where doctors allegedly accept bribes from employees in exchange for fictitious medical reports.

Employees then use these reports to obtain extended leave or get medically decategorised, enabling them to move from demanding field duties to office-based roles, they said. 

According to the FIR, the doctor, who served as the senior divisional medical officer at Nandyal in the Guntur division, allegedly connived with a private individual, who collected bribe money from both employees in return for sickness certificates. The money was then allegedly transferred to the doctor’s driver’s account to avoid suspicion, reports PTI. 

It further stated that one of the accused loco pilots, who had her job profile changed to technician on medical grounds, did not join the new department and continued on sick leave.

According to the FIR, the loco pilot had applied for sick leave regularisation and medical re-screening. The doctor allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh to facilitate her, but reportedly later agreed to Rs 75,000 after negotiation.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in the FIR, has mentioned the money trail from the loco pilot to another individual and subsequently to the doctor’s driver.

In another case, a loco pilot in the Guntur division allegedly wanted to be declared medically unfit to work as running crew so that he could be transferred to a stationary job.

“Information further revealed that the doctor informed Karimulla that she had referred the unfit case of the loco pilot, South Central Railway, Guntur division, to Central Hospital, Lallaguda, Secunderabad,” the FIR said.

The FIR further alleged that Karimulla was asked to arrange a video EEG and get the report in favour of the loco pilot to enable decategorisation, declaring him medically unfit to facilitate a change in job profile.

The investigating agency found a similar money trail in this case as well. According to the FIR, both incidents took place in June last year.

Employees say such corrupt practices are widespread in railway hospitals, due to which even genuine medical cases are often viewed with suspicion.

“The Railway Board should explore ways to curb this corrupt practice, as it not only causes harassment to genuine employees but also impacts its operational efficiency,” an official said.