The CBI may soon ‘inquire’ the role if any played by Rahul Bhandari, private secretary to ousted Union Rail Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, in the transfer and postings in the Railway Ministry for pecuniary benefits.
It was following the CBI’s monitoring of the telephones of Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla and suspended Railway Board Member (Staff) Mahesh Kumar, which indicated that Bhandari had played a key role in the transfers and postings in the ministry. Recently, the probe agency had questioned Bhandari, a Punjab-cadre IAS officer in connection with the `10 crore cash-for-post scam. Also the investigators are looking into the assets of Bhandari, which allegedly witnessed a disproportionate growth over and above his known sources of income.
The CBI would soon take a decision on filing a fresh preliminary enquiry (PE) against Bhandari in connection with the case. Already, the agency has quizzed Bhandari twice about his role in the postings and transfers in the ministry.