CBI finds Rs 10 lakh in drainpipes of railway officer's house

New Delhi, Oct 25: Two days after CBI arrested senior railway board official Ravi Mohan Sharma for allegedly taking bribe for illegally adding coaches in special trains to benefit a private tour operator, agency sleuths seized a large amount of cash, several laptops and expensive mobile phones from his house.

Agency sources said Sharma had hidden a large amount of cash in the drain pipes of his house, which had to be broken to recover them. The sleuths have seized Rs 10 lakh in cash from the drain pipes. Half a dozen laptops, I-phones and several other smart phones were recovered from his house, sources said. Sharma has been sent to four days in CBI custody. The searches are still on.

He was arrested for allegedly receiving Rs 5 lakh as bribe on Wednesday through hawala channels for facilitating special trains and additional coaches for tourists.

Sharma, an Indian Railway Traffic Service officer of 1997 batch, allegedly took bribe in other contracts, sources said.

Posted as director, traffic and commercial (coaching) in railways, Sharma had allegedly taken money from tour operators Rajesh Champaklal Jodhani and Kulin Kumarpal Shah, owners of Kulin Kumar Holidays Pvt Ltd. He is accused of favouring the operators in processing applications for adding special coaches for their tourist clients in a special train from Surat to Haridwar.