The Central Bureau of Investigation has expedited its probe into the cash-for-appointment case, with several senior Railway Ministry officials being summoned for questioning. A top CBI official said some of the officials produced themselves before the probe team on Friday to get their statements recorded.
Although speculation is rife that all crucial appointments during the tenure of Pawan Kumar Bansal are being examined, the officer said the agency at this stage was focusing only on the alleged payment of bribe by the suspended Railway Board Member (Staff) Mahesh Kumar to Mr. Bansal’s nephew, Vijay Singla.
“It is the job of Income Tax Department and related agencies to probe allegations against the companies in which Mr. Bansal’s relatives have interests,” the officer said.
CBI sources earlier told The Hindu that they had “incontrovertible proof,” including electronic evidence (phone intercepts running to several hours of conversations), against the accused.
The call records revealed that Mr. Singla and his associates were in constant touch with Mr. Kumar and they formed crucial circumstantial evidence of the alleged conspiracy to put the top Railway Ministry on “sell.”
The CBI has already quizzed Mr. Bansal’s personal secretary Rahul Bhandari and his officer on special duty, Vitul Kumar, is being summoned for clarifications regarding Mr. Kumar’s appointment as Member (Staff).
The agency has alleged that Mr. Kumar offered Mr. Singla and others Rs. 10 crore for the post of Railway Board Member (Electrical). An immediate payment of Rs. 90 lakh, purportedly to Mr. Singla and his accomplice Sandeep Goyal, was made in Chandigarh on May 3.
