New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an FIR against railway officials, a Jaipur-based private firm, and its director for allegedly cheating the Railways of over Rs 5.13 crore by transporting marble powder disguised as alum powder to different parts of the country.

A senior CBI official said that the preliminary inquiry in the case was initiated in December 2022 based on sourced information.

It was alleged that marble powder was loaded and transported by the Railways from Rajasthan's Mandalgarh Railway Station (WCR) to various destinations, masquerading as alum powder, resulting in wrongful loss to the Indian Railways. During the inquiry, it was revealed that Vinayak Logistics, Guwahati, and Vinayak Logistics India Pvt Ltd, Guwahati, along with its director Pravesh Kabra, were involved in a criminal conspiracy in collusion with unknown railway officials to defraud the Railways.

These unknown railway officials, abusing their official positions, permitted the misdeclaration of goods, labeling the commodity as alum powder by the firms. They also allowed the loading and transportation of as many as 20 rakes, part rakes of marble powder from Mandalgarh Railway Station, to different destinations, including Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir; Sankrail Goods Terminal Yard, West Bengal; Dekargaon, Assam; Rangapani, West Bengal; and Changsari, Assam, pretending it to be alum powder.

The deceitful act took place between September 2021 and March 2022, causing a loss to the Railways.

The FIR stated, "If the transported commodity were to be charged similarly to marble chips, then a wrongful loss of Rs 5,13,89,886 would be incurred by the Indian Railways, resulting in a corresponding wrongful gain for the accused persons."

Based on the its preliminary investigations, the CBI has registered an FIR under sections 120-B and 420 of the IPC.