MISUSE OF RAILWAY SALOON by SDGM & CVO/SWR

#ManojKumar, Senior Deputy General Manager & Chief Vigilance Officer, South Western Railway (#SWR), allegedly used a Government Inspection Carriage as a private goods wagon to haul his household goods from Jaipur to Hubli, under the guise of official work and with the General Manager’s approval of the booking, at public cost.

A. The Officer And His Transfer

Manoj Kumar, NF-HAG, Indian Railway Service of Stores, 1992 BATCH is Sr. Deputy General Manager and Chief Vigilance Officer, South Western Railway (SWR). He is the officer charged with policing integrity on SW Railway.

By Railway Board Order No. E(O)III-2026/TR/168 dated 09.04.2026, he was transferred from the post of Chief Vigilance Officer (S&M), North Western Railway (NWR) Headquarters, Jaipur, to SWR Headquarters, Hubli. He relinquished charge at Jaipur and joined at Hubli on 27.04.2026.

The transfer was on administrative grounds. He was therefore entitled to transfer allowance and the prescribed luggage entitlement for moving his belongings. As set out below, he instead used a Railway Inspection Carriage (RA Saloon), which is strictly for official inspections and not for transporting household items.

B. Booking of The Saloon And Approval by The GM

Inspection Carriage No. [LRAAC-232811] of SWR was booked in the name of Shri Manoj Kumar on the pretext of “Vigilance work at NWR/HQ/Jaipur”. Saloons are meant for inspection only and not for carrying household goods on transfer.

The tour programme was as follows:

• Date Station / event Train / remarks
• 06.10.2026 UBL dep. 06:30 T. 20694
• 07.10.2026 JU arr. 13:50; JU dep. 16:00; JP arr. 21:15 T. 20694 / T. 22978
• 08.10.2026 “Vigilance work at NWR/HQ/Jaipur” No particulars given
• 09.10.2026 “Vigilance work at NWR/HQ/Jaipur” No particulars given
• 10.10.2026 (Sat) “Availing Saturday at Jaipur”; KWP dep. 21:20 Tr No. 20668
• 11.10.2026 (Sun) PUNE arr. 20:10 Tr No. 20668 (revised)
• 12.10.2026 (Mon) PUNE dep. 00:10; UBL arr. 10:45 T. 17318 (revised)

On 06.10.2026, the day of departure, Smt. P. Pushpalata, PS/Gaz to SDGM, revised the return leg. The original plan was KWP–BAY (T. 20668) and then by road to UBL. The revised plan is via Pune (T. 20668 and T. 17318), as shown in the table above.

The tour programme does not name a single item of vigilance work at Jaipur. Jaipur is about 1,952 km from Hubli. The nearer zonal headquarters were Southern Railway, Chennai (about 710 km); South Central Railway, Secunderabad (about 617 km); and Central and Western Railways, Mumbai (about 737 km). A journey to his earlier place of posting is unjustified.

P. Ananth, General Manager, SWR, held the tour programme for almost six days before departure. During that time:

• (a) he did not ask why the CVO had to travel 1,952 km to NWR HQ, or why a saloon was needed;
• (b) with Vigilance Awareness Week (26 October to 1 November) being prepared for, he should have required air travel for the shortest absence from headquarters, and instead sanctioned a week-long saloon trip; and
• (c) his approval, without question, gave the means for the misuse and caused loss to the Railways.

The GM therefore either knew the purpose of the trip or allowed it, which is connivance, or sanctioned a 3,900-km round trip by the Vigilance chief with no questions asked, which is wilful blindness by the officer ultimately accountable for the Railway’s assets. Neither is acceptable in the position of a General Manager.

C. The Tour: 06.10.2026 TO 12.10.2026

The saloon left Hubli on 06.10.2026 and reached Jaipur on the night of 07.10.2026. The officer stayed in Jaipur on 08.10.2026 and 09.10.2026, for which no particulars of vigilance work are given, and he “availed Saturday” there on 10.10.2026.

At Jaipur, Shri Manoj Kumar is understood to have had his personal belongings (washing machine/refrigerator, electrical household items, gym equipment, chairs and other baggage) loaded into the saloon. The saloon left Jaipur on 10.10.2026 by T. 20668 and was detached and attached to T. 17318 for Hubli. The complainant submits that bringing the household goods was the purpose of the official tour.

Before the saloon reached Hubli, Vigilance officials are alleged to have directed Chief Parcel Supervisor, to arrange a vehicle to carry the goods from the RA saloon siding to the SDGM’s official residence, Qtr. No. [1446], Golf Links.

Vehicle No. KA 25 G 9662 was stationed at the VIP/RA saloon siding from about [9:00] hrs.

On 12.10.2026, T. 17318 arrived at Hubli at about [10:25] hrs. The SDGM could have alighted at Platform No. 1 and gone to his car. He chose to alight at the VIP siding at about 10:50 hrs.

The video recordings and photos enclosed depicts the sequence:

• (a) after the saloon was placed in the VIP siding, the SDGM alights from the middle door and loads two suitcases, one of them large, into his official car;
• (b) a washing machine/refrigerator, gym items and chairs are unloaded from the Gadag-end door, and the vehicle KA 25 G 9662 is then brought to Dharwad end the front door and more luggage is loaded;
• (c) the vehicle KA 25 G 9662 leaves the VIP siding entrance, passes towards the Railway under-bridge, turns towards the Divisional Office, proceeds to Golf Links and enters Qtr. No. [1446]; and
• (d) at the quarter, his peon, Shri Allah Baksh of the Vigilance branch, and one more staff member unload the goods. Shri

Allah Baksh is wearing a T-shirt that reads “SAY NO TO CORRUPTION”.

The following staff accompanied Shri Manoj Kumar on the tour: (i) Shri Ajay Mothukuri, Technician-III, SSE/C&W/UBL, as coach attendant; and (ii) Shri Dayanand Angadi, RPF Watcher, working in Vigilance for the last 21 years.

In addition, it is also alleged that two contract drivers of the Vigilance branch, Shri Prathik and Shri Manju, travelled to Jaipur to bring his personal car by road. Whether they also travelled in the saloon from Hubli to Jaipur needs investigation.

These persons depend on Vigilance department for their future contracts, and were in no position to refuse.

Besides the goods seen in the video, the suitcases and other packages were never examined. The inquiry must establish what else was carried in a saloon that nobody inspects.

D. Loss And Officers Disclosed

The misuse has caused loss to the Railways through blocked saloon capacity, haulage, manpower and vehicles. The loss is to be assessed and recovered from those responsible.

Manoj Kumar is alleged to have committed criminal misconduct under Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, by converting property under his control to his own use, and an offence under Section 7 as the inquiry may establish. He has also violated the Railway Services (Conduct) Rules, 1966, in matters of integrity and abuse of official position. He is the officer meant to eradicate corruption, and he misused a Government asset dishonestly and without authority for personal gain.

P. Ananth is alleged to have allowed another person to convert Government property under Section 13(1)(a), or to have abetted the offence under Section 12 of the Act, and at minimum to have committed gross dereliction of duty.

The most disturbing aspect is the vigilance dimension of the matter. The officer entrusted with detecting corruption, preventing misuse of public resources and ensuring integrity within SWR is himself involved in gross violations of service conduct rules by misusing his authority to use official inspection car for transporting household items from his previous place of posting to the new place of posting, all cost free for himself but burdening the government exchequer heavily.