Odisha EPFO official arrested by CBI for Rs 10,000 bribe

Bhubaneswar, June 14 (IANS) An official of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in Odisha was arrested by the CBI for taking a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a chartered accountant for approving applications about two companies, an official said on Saturday.

Anil Rath, Senior Social Security Assistant (SSSA), EPFO Regional Office, Berhampur, District Ganjam, was allegedly harassing the complainant by delaying the approval, the official said.

A case was registered by the CBI on June 12 against Rath on the basis of a complaint filed by Suraj Kumar Dash.

He was booked for the offence of demanding undue advantage/bribe by a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Rath allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant to approve the Authorised Signatory Application of two employers -- Jai Jagannath Infratech and Uttam Padhi, on the EPFO Portal.

Dash said the application was repeatedly rejected by Rath between March and May on the grounds of incomplete documentation.

“I visited the EPFO (Regional Office, Berhampur) again on June 11 to find out the reason why the application is under process. Where PRO Anil Rath demanded Rs 10,000 (for two employers at the rate of Rs 5,000 per company) to approve the Authorised Signatory Application,” said Dash in his complaint.

After negotiation, the accused agreed to accept a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant, the CBI said.

On receiving a complaint from Dash, CBI, ACB, Bhubaneswar verified it on June 12.

The verification report which confirmed the demand of bribe said, “The complaint and its subsequent verification report, prima facie, disclose commission of cognizable offence punishable under section 61(2) of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita read with section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018), on the part of Anil Rath.”

The report also raised suspicion about the involvement of other officials in the alleged demand of a bribe.

“During verification of the complaint, Anil Rath is talking about some other officer of EPFO by addressing him as ‘Sir’. As the identity of that person has not been established during the verification, hence, his role will be looked into during the investigation,” said the report.