Rail bribery scam: CBI gets 90 days to file chargesheet

The agency is currently in the process of questioning senior rail board members, ministry officials

Central Bureau of Investigation will file a chargesheet within the next three months in connection with the rail bribery scam. CBI is in the process of questioning senior rail board members and ministry officials. It will question Pawan Kumar Bansal, who resigned as the rail minister yesterday, soon with regards to the appointment of Mahesh Kumar member (staff), railway board.

The investigation agency has finished the interrogation of all the arrested accused and plans to turn two courier boys Dharmendra Kumar and Vivek Kumar into approvers. The two will not be named in the chargesheet but will be treated as prosecution witness against the remaining accused including Bansal’s nephew and close aide Vijay Singla.

CBI has also quizzed a Railway Protection Force official who allegedly assisted Mahesh Kumar’s wife in moving some documents and jewellery out of Kumar’s Mumbai residence, minutes before CBI raids took place.

Having registered a case against 8 accused thus far for criminal conspiracy and bribery, CBI is looking at adding more names to the list of accused as its investigation progresses. All accused are in judicial custody till May 20.

 CBI has already written to senior officials of the rail ministry to join the investigation process and cooperate in the questioning. The agency recently also interrogated Bansal’s personal assistant Rahul Bhandari and is likely to rope in his officer on special duty Vitul Kumar for questioning soon.

The agency has alleged that Kumar had   agreed to obtain Rs 2 crore as illegal gratification from Narayan Rao Manjunath, Managing Director, G. G. Tronics India, and other businessmen dealing with the Railways. CBI says that Kumar paid this money as bribe to Singla’s associates in exchange for his posting in the electrical department.

CBI had registered an FIR on May 3, against the eight accused for criminal conspiracy and bribery. Nine arrests have been made so far including Mahesh Kumar, Vijay Singla, Ajay Garg, Manjunath and close aides of Singla - Samir Sandhir, Rahul Yadav, Panchkula based Sandeep Goyal. CBI has also got 14 days judicial custody of   Vivek Kumar and Dharmendra Kumar today. Both are associates of Singla’s conduit Yadav.