Railway Minister Bansal8217;s nephew arrested by CBI for accepting Rs 90-lakh bribe

Mahesh Kumar,one of the country's most senior Railway officers,was also arrested.

The CBI on Friday arrested a nephew of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 90 lakh to fix a top railway appointment. A senior Railway official and a third person were also arrested.

Businessman Vijay Singla,who is the son of Bansals sister,was arrested from an upcoming mall in Chandigarhs Sector 28,where he had allegedly gone to pick up the bribe. The cash is learnt to have been seized.

Mahesh Kumar,one of the countrys most senior Railway officers who was elevated to the Railway Board as its Member Staff only on Thursday,was arrested in Mumbai,PTI reported.

The Member Staff looks after administration and human resource and recruitment in the Railways. Kumar is believed to have been eyeing the post of Railway Board Chairman,Indias top railway officer.

Singla is into construction,with businesses in Chandigarh,Mandi Gobindgarh,Derabassi and Delhi. A CBI team was learnt to have tried to search his home in Chandigarh after detaining him at the mall,but was allegedly not allowed to enter by the family. CBI officers allegedly had an argument with a friend of the family,who accused them of invading their privacy.

Minister Bansal remained unavailable for comment. His phones were switched off. The Railway Board had issued no official reaction until press time.

Kumar,a railway engineer of the 1975 batch,has been a general manager of Western Railway and has held the posts of executive director and additional Member at the Railway Board earlier. He holds a Guinness record for commissioning the largest route relay interlocking in the world for 36 hours.

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It was not immediately clear whether Kumar was being accused of bribing for a post already gained or for one that he apparently coveted. The Railway Board is currently going through an unusual phase of churn in which all its members are either new or are about to retire. Chairman Vinay Mittal is due for retirement next month.