Custody of six accused in Railway Board bribery extended

A Delhi court Monday extended till Aug 31 the judicial custody of six accused in the Rs.10 crore railway bribery case. Among the accused is former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla.

Special CBI Judge Swarna Kanta Sharma extended the custody of the six accused, who were produced before the court after expiry of their judicial custody.

Others whose custody was extended include then member (staff) of the Railway Board Mahesh Kumar, managing director of Bangalore-based G.G. Tronics India Pvt Ltd Narayan Rao Manjunath, and alleged middlemen Sandeep Goyal, M.V. Murali Krishan and C.V. Venugopal.

Ten accused have been chargesheeted for the offence of criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Of the 10 accused who were chargesheeted by CBI in the case, four are at present out on bail.

In its charge sheet filed July 2, the probe agency alleged that Singla demanded Rs.10 crore from Mahesh Kumar for appointment as member (electrical) in the board.

The agency said that it was decided between the accused that Rs.5 crore would be paid before the appointment, and the rest after the job was done.