NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, FEB 19
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested an enforcement officer of the EPFO on Monday while allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from a software company which had received funds of more than Rs 3 crore under the central government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, officials said.
Arrested officer P Kabilan in Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, had allegedly come to know that the company received Rs 3 crore from the Centre under the scheme to boost creations of new jobs in formal sector through the support of EPF contributions for new employees, they said.
The central investigation agency registered a case on the basis of a complaint against the said Enforcement Officer, on allegations that the accused demanded a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from the complainant who runs a software company at Tirunelveli. It was also alleged that the accused demanded the said bribe for not taking action against the company which availed the Central Government ABRY scheme i.e. Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (a scheme to boost creations of new jobs in formal sector through support of EPF contributions by the Central Government for new employees).
As per other allegations, the accused officer collected and verified the documents from the complainant Company and learnt that the company received an amount of approximately Rs 3 crore under Central Government ABRY scheme. Out of the said amount he allegedly demanded 5% as bribe from the complainant.
Acting on the allegations, the CBI laid a trap and caught the accused EPFO officer red-handed while accepting the bribe of Rs 2 lakh, as an advance.
