The CBI is all set to question former railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal this week in connection with the Rs 10 crore Railway bribery scam.
On May 3, a CBI team had arrested Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla and middleman Sandeep Goyal while accepting bribe in Chandigarh.
The investigating agency may question Bansal regarding the appointment of Mahesh Kumar, Member (Staff) Railway Board, who is presently under suspension.
It is alleged that Mahesh arranged Rs 90 lakh and gave it to Singla and Goyal in Chandigarh for getting him transferred as Member (Electrical). The payment of `90 lakh was a part payment of the `10 crore demanded by Singla to get Mahesh the post of his choice. Following Singla’s arrest, Bansal had to resign from the Union Cabinet.
Bansal is likely to be questioned on the basis of information collected by the CBI by tapping close to 1,000 telephone calls of Singla, Goyal, Mahesh, Bangalore-based railway equipment supplier Narayan Rao Manjunath and some others.
Two weeks ago, the CBI interrogated Bansal’s private secretary and nephew in this regard. The CBI may also seek details from Bansal regarding his meeting with Mahesh in Mumbai on April 16. Two weeks after the meeting, Mahesh was elevated from his position as General Manager (West) to Member (Staff) Railway Board. So far, the CBI has collected all documents regarding the posting of Mahesh. The agency has also questioned Singla and Goyal on their contacts in the Ministry of Railways.