Two senior officials from the Employees Provident Fund Office (EPFO), including the former Regional Commissioner, have been sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment in a bribery case.
Surendra V. Azad, the then Regional Provident Fund Commissioner-II, EPFO, Nagpur, and Ajay Bhalchandra Pahade, the then Enforcement Officer/Inspector at the office of the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, EPFO, Nagpur, were convicted by the Special Judge for CBI Cases, Nagpur.
They were fined a total of Rs. 4 lakh. The case stemmed from a complaint lodged with the CBI on 15.03.2019, alleging that Pahade demanded a bribe to clear pending audits of M/s M S Industrial Services, Nagpur.
Following an investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet on 30.03.2020. The court convicted both accused after a trial during which 15 witnesses were examined, and 60 documents were exhibited by the prosecution, leading to their conviction.
