Pulled up short

The alacrity with which Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav dismissed the molestation case involving an IAS officer8217;s sister and a Railway Protection Force DIG left a lot of red faces in Rail Bhavan. Lalu had quoted RPF DG MK Sinha, when he told the media that 8220;nothing of the sort had happened8221;. But the minister had to quickly revise his stance and say that the matter was being looked into. As the Railways formed a two-member inquiry team to save face, Lalu, according to sources, gave the DG a dressing down for 8220;misleading8221; him. Despite one of their officers being in the line of fire, the RPF8217;s brass in Delhi were unanimous in their opinion that the minister should not have spoken so hastily. 8220;All he needed to say was that the law would take its own course,8221; said an RPF official.