`Corruption unlimited': How Patancheru EPFO officer demanded bribe from poor worker to release PF

Hyderabad: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against K Bharath Reddy, a senior Social security assistant at EPFO in Patancheru, for accepting a bribe of Rs 6000 from a poor worker seeking provident fund.

This incident speaks volumes about the deep-rooted corruption and exploitation of the poor by high and mighty.

Mohd Jilani, a resident of Sanga Reddy used to work at Al-Kabeer in Rudraram. He was terminated from service due to labor union issues in 2017. The man wanted his provident fund. In November 2020, he along with his son Mohammed Irfan visited the PF office in Pantancheru. They were directed to meet K Bharath Reddy.

The glitch in the PF application was a 'name change' of Jilani for which Bharath Reddy asked a fee of Rs 1000. The amount was paid through Google pay. As part of the procedure, Irfan applied for PF online by logging on to the Meeseva website.

It, however, did not go down well with Bharath Reddy who dialed Irfan and threatened to reject the claim for not intimating him before applying online.

"On 6th January 2021, Bharath Reddy demanded a bribe of Rs 6500 and also threatened to deduct hefty TDS if the bribe wasn't paid," CBI said.

Irfan, however, visited the Anti-Corruption Bureau wing of the CBI and lodged a complaint. Based on the complaint, CBI conducted a raid. Electronic evidence concluded that Bharath Reddy had accepted the bribe.