Following his sudden sacking in July this year, the Central Bureau of Investigation had registered a case against the former CMD of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) on the orders of the Lokpal. He is accused of misappropriating around one lakh rupees. 1100 crore government fund to a private company in his favor. Prior to his dismissal, he was managing the government’s prestigious bullet train project as the Managing Director of the National High-Speed Railway Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).
The private company Krishnapatnam Rail Company Limited (KRCL) has also been booked by the CBI and a case has been registered under section 120B of IPC. The sections pertain to criminal conspiracy and prevention of corruption.
Lokpal notes abuse of office in its order recommending CBI probe AgnihotriWhich cost about Rs. 1100 (which will be the amount 1,600 crore with interest), to KRCL in an unauthorized manner.
According to the complaint, Navyug Engineering Company Limited (NECL) had a private port at Krishnapatnam and wanted to build a 110-km line to connect it to the railway network.
RVNL and NECL formed a joint venture company KRCL in 2005-06, which received diverted funds.
The Ombudsman also noted that Agnihotri directly violated the CVC guidelines when he used his contacts in RVNL where he worked in RVNL to get several major contracts from RVNL to NECL.
Agnihotri was offered a lucrative job in NECL, which bought luxury cars and a farmhouse in Mehrauli, among other things, post retirement. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited in 2018.
The complaint also records that in 2011, just before the West Bengal elections, the then Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had “jumped” several senior officials to choose Agnihotri as MD, RVNL.
The Ombudsman emphasized Agnihotri’s enormous benefits under the Performance Related Wage Policy, which were unmatched by his peers in other PSUs. The anti-corruption watchdog also narrates how Agnihotri was hired by NECL on exorbitant pay shortly after his retirement.
In his detailed submission to the Ombudsman, Satish Agnihotri refuted the allegations against him, claiming that the complainant started making these allegations against him only after his appointment as MD of NHSRCL. He also alleged that the complainant threatened him and his family on WhatsApp chat.
With inputs from PTI
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