Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The CBI is planning to question former railways minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in connection with the alleged bribery case involving his nephew,Vijay Singla,and Railway Board Member Staff Mahesh Kumar.
Singla is alleged to have accepted a bribe of Rs 90 lakh from Kumar for making him Member Electrical. According to the CBI,the deal was fixed for Rs 10 crore. Both have since been arrested. Bansal is also alleged to have met Kumar in Mumbai on April 16.
Bansals questioning is required to understand the circumstances that led to the appointment of Kumar as Member Staff, said a CBI official. The agency is of the view that the appointment of Member Staff,equivalent to the post of Secretary,could not have been cleared without the ministers concurrence.
Bansal is likely to be questioned later this week. While officials refused to elaborate on the line of questioning,they said nothing incriminating has been found against Bansal so far.
The move to examine Bansal comes days after the CBI recorded the statement of his private secretary,Rahul Bhandari,and Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal.
Sources said Bansal is likely to take the line that while processing Railway Board appointments,due diligence on the eligibility of candidates is done by an established apparatus of the Railway Board,and the file is sent to the minister only after the name is selected by a panel.
The CBI is also seeking voice samples of both Singla and Kumar,who were caught on tape while discussing the deal.
