JOIN USThe CBI on Tuesday quizzed former railway minister P K Bansal for over six hours in connection with the bribery scandal involving his nephew Vijay Singla and Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar.
Sources said Bansal was called at 11 am to the CBI guest house located 5 km from the agency’s headquarters to avoid the media which had gathered outside its headquarters. They said he was grilled till 6.45 pm, with a break of about one-and-a-half hours for lunch.
The sources said CBI wants to examine the role of Bansal, if any, in the bribery scandal. Bansal was asked a number of questions about his meetings with Kumar, his promotion as board member and the additional charge given to him as General Manager (West).
Kumar had allegedly paid Rs 90 lakh to Bansal’s nephew for retaining the additional charge after his promotion as Railway Board Member (Staff). This was allegedly part of a Rs 10-crore deal Kumar struck with Singla for his elevation as Member (Electrical). The duo was taken into custody by the CBI on May 3, when it nabbed Singla with alleged bribe money of Rs 90 lakh.
The sources claimed that the agency confronted Bansal with phone conversation intercepts.
They grilled him on how Singla was able to assure Kumar of his elevation if he had not discussed the matter with him.Bansal was confronted with the evidence collected by the probe agency about his meeting with the suspended Railway Board member in Mumbai on April 16 this year.
The Chandigarh MP denied having knowledge of any deal struck between Singla and Kumar. He also claimed his innocence in the entire scandal, and said that he had not given any assurance to Kumar about his elevation as board member, the sources said.