Cutting short his five-year deputation to the Centre,the Union government has repatriated Punjab cadre IAS officer Rahul Bhandari private secretary to former Railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal back to the state. Bhandari,a 1997-batch officer,was to continue at the Centre till June next year but joined his duties in Punjab on Monday. Bhandari was among those questioned by the CBI in the Railgate scam. His name also figures in the case for his alleged role in transfers and postings in the Railway ministry. Sources said after Bansals resignation following the scam,Bhandari had requested for another posting in the Centre but was refused on the grounds that he was facing a CBI inquiry. Punjab Principal Secretary (Personnel) Anirudh Tewari,however,said that Bhandari could not join on another Central post as there was less than a year left for his deputation period to end. In such cases,the Centre prefers to repatriate the officer back. He has joined here and is now awaiting a posting, he said. Bhandari was handpicked by Bansal in 2009 as his PS. Sources said Bansals nephew Vijay Singla,who is now the main accused in the Railgate scam,was close to Bhandari and helped him get the coveted post. Recently,Bhandari had reportedly also tried to go for a mid-career training programme at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie but could not get a clearance from the DoPT. Bhandaris first posting was as SDM at Tapa from 1999 to 2001 the subdivision in Barnala from where Bansal hails. When Congress came to power in the state in 2002,Bhandari enjoyed several key posts. In 2002,he shifted to Ludhiana where he was with Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority and also as the Ludhiana ADC. He remained with the excise department for two years in Patiala,after which,he joined as Bathinda deputy commissioner. In 2007,when SAD came to power,he was almost sidelined and joined at a nondescript post in the rural development department. However,in May 2008,he was picked up to join as Mohali deputy commissioner one of the most coveted districts. Bhandari,however,was removed in January 2009 as Mohali DC and remained on inconsequential posts for another six months. Following this,he was picked by Bansal to join as his private secretary in June 2009. Bhandaris wife Raakhi Gupta also a 1997-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre is on Central deputation till November 2015.
