CBI has arrested Vijay Singla the nephew of union railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in a Bribery case involving railways. Vijay Singla is considered to be a close aide to Mr. Bansal and this nexus may affect the political oxygen of the railway minister, who is already under fire for raising the railway fares marginally.
CBI arrested him for accepting the money from one Manjunath, an alleged middleman for railway board member (staff) Mahesh Kumar.
Mahesh Kumar was the general manager of Western Railway and was made a member (staff) of the Railway Board this month but apparently wanted the post of member (electrical).
Kumar, a 1975-batch Indian Railway Service officer, was apparently given his current post bypassing two general managers senior to him.
Meanwhile, Kumar was arrested at the Mumbai airport soon after he arrived from Delhi.
“The new post would have given him the power to influence advanced signalling and telecom contracts worth Rs. 2,300 crore,†a CBI officer, who didn’t wish to be identified, said.
The deal was allegedly struck for Rs. 2-crore and Rs. 90 lakh was the first instalment.
The CBI detained Kumar when he returned to Mumbai tonight after taking charge in Delhi, and is questioning him.