CBI arrests EPFO Lucknow officers in bribery case

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) The CBI has arrested an assistant provident fund commissioner and an enforcement officer of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Lucknow in connection with a Rs 8-lakh bribery case, officials said on Wednesday.

In an operation conducted late on Tuesday night, a middleman was also arrested, they said.

“Searches are being conducted at four locations in Lucknow at the official and residential premises of the accused,” a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spokesperson said in a statement.

A complaint was received against the accused that they had allegedly demanded Rs 12 lakh through a consultant and the arrested middleman for “not imposing tax in an improper way on a private company engaged in supply of manpower”, the spokesperson said.

The information was verified and a trap was laid. The accused enforcement officer and the middleman were caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 8 lakh, he said.

The bribe was allegedly meant for the assistant provident fund commissioner, EPFO, Lucknow. He has also been arrested, the spokesperson said.

“The arrested accused will be produced before the special judge for CBI cases, Lucknow,” he said.