Railway bribery scandal: CBI files charge sheet

Former railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla is among the 10 accused named by the CBI in a charge sheet filed in a special court here Tuesday in the alleged Rs.10 crore cash-for-post bribery scandal.

Filing the charge sheet before CBI Special Judge Swarna Kanta Sharma, the probe agency listed the accused as Singla, suspended Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar, middlemen Sandeep Goyal, Samir Sandhir, Sushil Daga, Ajay Garg, Rahul Yadav and businessman Manjunath and his aides P.V. Murali and Venugopal.

In the charge sheet, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not named two courier boys who delivered the bribe money.

Bansal, who lost his job after the scam surfaced, was questioned by the CBI but was not named in the charge sheet as the agency could not find any evidence of his direct involvement.

Barring Murali and Venugopal, the CBI has arrested all the remaining eight accused named in the charge sheet.

The CBI had to file its charge sheet within 60 days of arrest, failing which the accused would be released on bail. The 60-day limit was expiring Tuesday.

The court is likely to take cognizance of the charge sheet Wednesday.

The CBI arrested the accused for their alleged roles in the bribe case, in which a deal of Rs.10 crore was finalised for arranging for Mahesh Kumar the top position in the Railway Board.

Manjunath and Goyal, managing director of GG Tronics India Pvt. Ltd., helped Mahesh Kumar in arranging money to give bribe to Singla and were to get favours from Mahesh Mukar after his appointment as Railway Board member (electrical).

Singla allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs.90 lakh from Mahesh Kumar for his (Kumar's) future appointment as member (electrical) of the powerful Railway Board.

Mahesh Kumar, who was general manager of Western Railway, was promoted as member (staff) in the Railway Board and was allegedly trying to get himself appointed to a more "lucrative" post as member (electrical), the CBI said.

The first information report (FIR) was filed against the accused under the Indian Penal Code's section 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with section 7, 8 and 10 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.