The CBI on Sunday arrested a middleman Rahul Yadav and two other courier boys in the bribery case involving Railway Minister Pawan Bansal’s nephew and railway board member. With these arrests, the total number of those nabbed by the CBI in the case has reached seven.
The registration of the case and arrests, including that of Bansal’s nephew created a political furore with the Opposition parties demanding sacking of the railway minister.
Yadav is an alleged middleman and a named accused in the FIR, agency sources said, adding he is also a close associate of another middleman already arrested in the case Manjunath. Yadava was arrested from Delhi on Sunday morning.
The two courier boys, who allegedly delivered Rs90 lakh cash as bribe to Bansal’s nephew for fixing the promotion of a Railway Board member, include Samir and Sandir.
So far seven persons, including Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla, Railway Board Member (Staff) Mahesh Kumar, middlemen Sandip Goyal and Manjunath, have been arrested in connection with the case.
Singla, who is a close aide of Bansal and was regularly seen in election campaigning alongside had allegedly demanded Rs10 crore for getting Kumar posted as member (electrical) which is considered a coveted post, next only to the Railway Board chairman in the hierarchy.
The post of Member Electrical of Railway Board is considered a prized assignment due to big-ticket projects handled by it, including the Rs2,500-crore train collision avoidance system.
Reports said intense lobbying for this post had begun for quite sometime as the present Member Electrical Kulbhusan is tipped to take over as Chairman Railway Board in July.
Kolkata Metro and railway track electrification comes under the ambit of this key post.
Besides, the department is believed to be finalising a proposal for introduction of train sets in high density routes, with each coach coming at Rs150 crore. The high speed train sets are expected to cruise along at 150 to 160 kmph, cutting travel time between metros.
The ambitious high-speed rail connectivity project is also being pursued by it, with estimates suggesting that laying one km of track would roughly cost Rs200 crore.