New Delhi:
In what will be another major embarrassment for the Congress-led UPA government, Railways Minister Pawan Bansal is expected to be questioned soon by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has arrested his nephew for allegedly accepting bribe to organise a plum posting for a senior official in the Railways.
The CBI arrested Mr Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla and Mahesh Kumar, the man who was allegedly on his way to bribe him with the Rs. 90 lakhs that he was carrying, on May 4, after a two-month investigation that reportedly involved screening over 1000 phone conversations.
The CBI sources alleged that Mr Bansal's name was mentioned in several of those conversations. It is also reportedly following up on the interrogation in custody of Mahesh Kumar, who has allegedly said that he had met Mr Singla at Mr Bansal's official residence.
Mr Singla, the sources said, has maintained during his interrogation that his maternal uncle was not involved in his alleged dealings.However, CBI sources say that Mr Singla used to visit the Rail Bhawan and spend time in the offices of the Private Secretary and Officer on Special Duty to the Railway Minister.
The CBI has alleged that the Rs. 90 lakh seized from Mr Kumar was only part of a Rs. 10-crore payoff that was to have secured for him a posting as member (electrical) on the Railway Board, a position with the power to transfer people and award big contracts. Mr Kumar was a member (staff) of the board, and has now been suspended.
The CBI, sources said, is trying to find out where the money for the alleged bribe came from and who in the Railways was meant to have influenced the posting for Mr Kumar. Appointment as member (electrical) on the railway board requires a recommendation by the Railway Ministry and clearance from the Home Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.
The minister has reportedly told the Congress leadership, including the Prime Minister, that he has no business links with his nephew. He has also denied any connection with an associate of Mr Singla's, a businessman named Ajay Garg, who surrendered in a Delhi court yesterday.
The government has so far rejected the opposition's demand that Mr Bansal be sacked, but top Congress sources have said that party president Sonia Gandhi does not favour his continuing in office. The government is now said to be looking for an "honourable exit" for Mr Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, the Congress' other minister smeared by scandal.