New Delhi, May 4 (ANI): Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Saturday met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at the latter’s 7, Race Course Road (RCR) official residence, and is reported to have offered to quit office in the wake of his nephew being arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) fo accepting a bribe of Rs.90 lakhs to facilitate the transfer of a Railway Board official to a more lucrative post. According to television reports, the meeting between Bansal and Prime Minister Singh lasted for about 30-minutes. It was not immediately known what had actually transpired during their meeting, but it is being reported that Bansal told the Prime Minister that he is ready to quit to ensure a fair and transparent probe in the bribery scandal. Bansal on Saturday distanced himself from his nephew V Singla, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Chandigarh on Friday for accepting a bribe of Rs.90 lakh from a senior railway officer who was seeking “a lucrative posting”. Bansal said he had no business relations with his nephew nor any financial transactions with him. Bansal said that he had always followed utmost probity in public life, and looked forward to the CBI carrying out an expeditious inquiry in the matter. Senior CBI officials had earlier said Singla was arrested in Chandigarh for accepting the money from one Manjunath, an alleged middleman for Railway Board Member (Staff) Mahesh Kumar. Kumar was arrested at the Mumbai airport soon after arriving from Delhi. He allegedly wanted the position of Member (Electrical), which falls vacant on July 1. “The new post would have given him the power to influence advanced signalling and telecom contracts worth Rs. 2,300 crore,” a CBI officer, who didn””t wish to be identified, said. The deal was allegedly struck for Rs. 2 crore and Rs. 90 lakh was the first installment. The Railway Board is the highest decision making body of the Indian Railways. Manjunath, who appeared to have “mobilised the money” on behalf of Kumar, has also been named in the case along with one Sandeep Goyal. (ANI)
