Rail bribe case: CBI official accuses Chandigarh DIG of tipping off Bansal's nephew before raid

The CBI may not have revealed who they suspected of having tipped off suspended Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar ahead of raids in relation to the now infamous rail bribe case, but an official has filed an affidavit alleging a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank official may have leaked information to another accused about impending raids. An inspector has filed an application with the Central Administrative Tribunal accusing a DIG  in the CBI’s Chandigarh unit, Mahesh Aggarwal, of tipping off the former railway minister’s nephew, Vijay Singla, about a raid at his residence in Chandigarh on 3 May. “The alleged involvement of Respondent no. 3, DIG Mahesh Aggarwal, in leakage of the raid on Singla’s house, led to delay of few hours and destroying of evidence due to his friendship with Singla,” inspector Balbir Singh has stated in his affidavit reported the New Indian Express. Aggarwal, a 1994 batch IPS official incidentally is a relative of the former railway minister, and had come to Chandigarh in 2006 where he was promoted over the years from Superintendent of Police to the DIG rank, reported the Times of India. While local leaders allege that Aggarwal’s transfer to Chandigarh was a result of Bansal’s intervention, the CBI official has denied all the allegations. Aggarwal has claimed that there are serious cases against inspector Singh, due to which he had been transferred, and in an attempt to divert attention from the cases the affidavit had been filed. [caption id=“attachment_797793” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The CBI has denied any truth in the allegations against its officer. Image courtesy: Ibnlive[/caption] The CBI meanwhile has issued a clarification saying that there is no probe against Aggarwal or any other official in connection with the alleged leak of information. “It is clarified that CBI has not ordered any internal enquiry against any of its officer/official in connection with alleged prior ’leakage’ of information pertaining to searches conducted in Chandigarh in the Bribery for Promotion Case in the Railways . Such reports and allegations therein are incorrect, baseless and of malicious intent,” the CBI said in its statement. The CBI had started an internal probe into leak of the news of the arrest of Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar, embroiled in a bribery scandal, whoses wife moved the valuables and property records from her house with the help of a Railway Protection Force Inspector, anticipating a search by the agency. Kumar, along with Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla, was arrested on 3 May on the allegations that the Railway Board member had struck a deal of Rs 10 crore bribe to get posting of choice in the Board and paid Rs 90 lakh as part payment.