Bihar railway engineer tries to sell vintage engine as 'scrap', suspended

Patna : A railway engineer in Bihar has been suspended for allegedly trying to illegally sell off a vintage steam engine as "scrap", a senior official said on Tuesday.

According to Alok Agrawal, DRM of Samastipur Division under East Central Railway, the engineer has been booked and an FIR has been lodged against seven persons, including the engineer Rajiv Ranjan Jha, at Banmankhi in Purnea district.

According to a news report, a metre gauge engine stationed in Purnea for public display which Mr Jha was found dismantled on December 14 with a gas cutter.

When a sub-inspector deployed at the RPF outpost, MM Rehman, came to enquire, the engineer produced a fake official letter from the Divisional Mechanical Engineer which ordered that scrap material from the engine be taken to the diesel locomotive shed nearby.

Mr Jha also wrote a memo confirming the same to Mr Rehman before leaving the spot with scrap material laden on a pick up van.

The matter came to light when a RPF personnel Sangita caught that the scrap has not reached the diesel shed.

When seniors investigated the matter, it was found that no order for transportation of scrap had been issued and the letter which Mr Jha was armed with.

"Evidently, Jha had struck an illegal scrap deal. He, along with Yadav, is on the run. They will be tracked down by RPF and face legal action as per Railway Property Act," said the DRM.

The officials are nor raiding the places to nab Mr Jha, also efforts are being made to trace the material that may have been transported as scrap.