Railways bribery case: Ministry of corporate affairs orders probe

New Delhi: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has ordered an inquiry into the accounts and regulatory filings of about 100 companies alleged to be linked to family members of former minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. Bansal had to resign earlier this month as Union Railway Minister, after his nephew and a few other persons were arrested by CBI in a case involving alleged payment of bribe for fixing a top level Railway Board position. As the CBI probe continues into the matter, the MCA has asked the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to conduct a scrutiny of the accounts and other regulatory filings of more than 100 firms, against whom complaints have been received to be linked with Bansal and his family members, ministry sources said. [caption id=“attachment_809783” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former Railways Minister Pawan Bansal. Agencies.[/caption] The scrutiny follows complaints filed by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya and a few others, wherein it has been alleged that these companies had close links with Bansal and his family. Somaiya has also submitted some documents to CBI about the financial and other details of the companies linked to Bansal’s family. Bansal has denied any wrongdoings in the entire matter and has also distanced himself from his nephew V Singla and his business dealings. A day after Singla’s arrest on May 3, Bansal said he had no business links with his nephew and also sought an expeditious CBI inquiry into the issue. However, he had to resign as Railway minister within days on May 10. Besides Singla, others arrested by CBI included Mahesh Kumar, who was recently promoted as Member (Staff) of the Railway Board and was allegedly trying to get a lucrative position of Member (Electrical). Singla was arrested in Chandigarh for allegedly accepting Rs 90 lakh as bribe in cash from a conduit of Mahesh Kumar. The money is said to be part of a total bribe amount of Rs 10 crore, allegedly promised for lateral shifting of Kumar in the Railway Board. PTI