Title - Railway minister Bansal distances himself from nephew arrested for graft - The Times of India

Railway minister Bansal distances himself from nephew arrested for graft

Distancing himself from his nephew arrested by CBI last night in a case of bribery for allegedly fixing a top level position in Railway Board, railway minister P K Bansal on Saturday said he had no business links with him and denied any wrongdoing.

"Regarding yesterday's incident involving my sister's son in a CBI raid in Chandigarh, I have to say that I had no knowledge or clue about the matter at all. Though a close relative, he or any other relative of mine does not and cannot meddle in my official functions or influence my decisions," Bansal said in a statement.

"I have always followed utmost probity in public life," he added.

"I have no business relations with my nephew nor any financial transactions with him," the railway minister said.

He also added, "I have always observed highest standards of probity in public life and look forward to an expeditious investigation by CBI in the matter."

In a setback to the railway minister and fresh embarrassment to the UPA government, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked his nephew Vijay Singla, seen to be close to the minister, in a corruption case.

Singla, along with two others, figures in a case registered by the CBI against senior railway official Mahesh Kumar, who took charge as member of the Railway Board only on Thursday. The CBI has alleged that the trio received a bribe of Rs 90 lakh as part payment for the promotion of Mahesh Kumar, who was earlier general manager of western railway headquartered in Mumbai.

Singla is seen to be Bansal's constituency manager and is a familiar figure in the railway minister's entourage in Chandigarh which is the minister's Lok Sabha constituency.

The investigating agency has also registered a case against Sandip Goyal of Chandigarh and one Manjunath in the case.

The case could not have come at a worse time as the government is already battling several cases of sleaze. A person close to Bansal being held on corruption charges directly related to his portfolio is quite damaging for the minister.

Singla, a resident of Sector 28, Chandigarh, is understood to look after the minister's business interests and is involved in running his campaign.

Mahesh Kumar, who had taken over as member (staff) of railway board and ex-officio secretary to the government of India, graduated in electronics and communication engineering in 1975 from University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee) and belongs to the 1975 batch of Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE).