RailEnquiry

NEW DELHI: Former railway minister Pawan Bansal is likely to be questioned by the CBI by Tuesday, agency sources said on Sunday. Before that, some railway board members are likely to be examined. Sources added that Bansal would be confronted with transcripts of conversations between his nephew Vijay Singla and Mahesh Kumar, the main characters in the bribery scandal. There has been suspense on Bansal's interrogation for the past few days but sources said on Sunday that "they want to be clear about the appointment/promotion process" in the railway board by examining some railway officers before calling the former minister. "We want to find out who all are authorized signatories on the file to such a sensitive post, apart from the minister," a source said. It was found during investigations that Singla and Sandeep Goyal had promised Mahesh Kumar the job of member (electrical) and Bansal had also reportedly given an assurance to Kumar. CBI officials said they would corroborate interrogation details of arrested persons with the meetings that took place in the railway ministry and at Bansal's residence, along with the recorded conversations.

The agency has sent intercepted phone conversations to Central Forensic Science Laboratory to identify the voices of suspects in the Rs 10 crore bribery scandal which saw Bansal's resignation. Sources said they have asked CFSL to identify the persons who are part of conversations intercepted by the agency in its surveillance project spanning over two months in which over 1,000 phone calls were tapped.

CBI had arrested nine persons including Singla, Mahesh Kumar, Sandeep Goyal, some Delhi and Faridabad based businessmen and their employees and one Ajay Garg and recovered documents, jewellery and other items apart from Rs 90 lakh bribe amount.