Former Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal might turn an approver in the Railway bribery case, if CBI Director Ranjit Sinha and the agency’s legal cell give the green light.
Sources said in all probability, Bansal could become a government witness in the case registered against his nephew Vijay Singla, who was arrested by the CBI sleuths here.
Bansal, the Chandigarh MP, has reportedly almost given his consent to the move.
“The premier probe agency, which questioned Bansal recently, has made a detailed report of his questioning and is of the view that nothing has been found against him to directly show his involvement in the case. So it has recommended that he be made a government witness. CBI Joint Director (Anti-corruption) Prabodh Kumar has given his consent to this and the file has been sent to CBI chief Ranjit Sinha for approval.
Once approved, Bansal has to record his statement before the agency as a witness,” said an official.
Sources said the facts collated by the CBI against Bansal were sent to its legal cell seeking to know whether Bansal could be made a witness. The cell, in return, sought more details.
The accused in the case should have been confronted against each other only after the arrest of all those involved, the legal cell had opined. In a related development, a BJP delegation comprising national secretary Aarti Mehra, senior leader Kirit Somaiya, Chandigarh unit president Sanjay Tandon and former MP Satya Pal Jain met Prabodh Kumar and member(investigation) of the Central Board of Direct Taxes K V Chaudhary in Delhi on Wednesday.