CBI gets remand of Rly board member in graft case

A special court granted the CBI two days` transit remand of a Member of the Railway Board in an alleged graft case involving Railway Minister P K Bansal`s nephew.

Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai on Saturday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) two days` transit remand of a Member of the Railway Board in an alleged graft case involving Railway Minister P K Bansal`s nephew.

Mahesh Kumar, recently promoted as Member (Staff) of the Railway Board from the post of Western Railway General Manager, was arrested late on Friday night at the city airport on his arrival from Delhi. He was produced before a special CBI court which handed him over to the premier investigative agency on two days` transit remand for taking him to Delhi. He is likely to be shifted to the national capital on Saturday evening after CBI obtains a copy of the court`s order. A senior CBI official said Kumar was taken to St George’s hospital on Friday night for a medical check up. The Anti Corruption Wing of CBI had on Friday arrested Bansal`s nephew Vijay Singla in Chandigarh for accepting Rs 90 lakh in cash from Manjunath, alleged to be the conduit of Kumar. According to the investigating agency, Kumar was trying to get a lucrative position as Member (Electrical) of the Railway Board for which he had agreed to pay a bribe of Rs 90 lakh first and then Rs 1.10 crore to Singla. The post of Member (Electrical) is crucial for passing tenders of over Rs 2000 crore worth of Railway projects in the coming future, sources said. Another person Sandip Goyal, who is alleged to have assisted in brokering the deal, was also arrested last night by the CBI. All the accused have been booked under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The agency on Saturday morning arrested two courier boys who allegedly delivered the bribe amount to Singla, taking the total number of persons arrested in the case to six. PTI