Rail bribe case: No evidence against Bansal yet, says CBI chief

Pawan Kumar Bansal may have vacated the post of Railway Minister after facing charges of being involved in a corruption scandal that involves his nephew Vijay Singla, but the CBI chief has said that presently there is little evidence to connect the politician to the case. In an interview to the Economic Times,CBI chief Ranjit Sinha has said that telephone intercepts of the nephew of the former Railway Minister bragging about Bansal’s influence could not prove the minister was involved. “It is a difficult case to prove against Bansal, but the probe is still on and something new may come up,” Sinha said. The former minister is not off the hook entirely and is likely to face interrogation by the investigating agency. However, the CBI chief has admitted that there was no evidence to suggest that suspended Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar, who had offered the bribe, was going to be appointed to the post he was seeking, thereby providing the minister with a strong defence. [caption id=“attachment_783629” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Is there no involvement of Bansal in the scandal? PTI[/caption] Bansal was forced to resign on 10 May following the controversy over his nephew, Vijay Singla’s, involvement in the bribery scandal.  Singla was caught in Chandigarh while receiving a bribe of Rs 90 lakh sent through some courier boys on 4 May as part of a promised amount for shifting Kumar as Member (Electrical) of the railway Board. The CBI has arrested eight people including Bansal’s nephew Singla and Mahesh Kumar, Member (Railway Board) who were held on 3 May. Others arrested included alleged middlemen Sandeep Goel and Narayanrao Manjunath, Delhi-based resident Rahul Yadav and two courier boys — Dharmendra Kumar and Vivek Kumar. The CBI chief has said that the investigating agency will complete its probe and file a charge sheet in the case within 90 days. A crucial part of the CBI’s investigations into the case will be the telephone transcripts it has of Singla in conversation with others involved in the case.