Bansal’s nephew booked for graft, ex-GM of WR held at city airport

New Delhi/Chandigarh: In a fresh embarrassment for the UPA government, the CBI has booked railway minister Pawan Bansal’s nephew V Singla in a corruption case.

Singla and two others figure in a case registered by CBI against senior railway official Mahesh Kumar, who took charge as member of the Railway Board only on Thursday. Mahesh Kumar was arrested from Mumbai airport on Friday. A PTI report said Singla has also been arrested.

CBI claims a bribe of Rs 90 lakh was received as part payment for the promotion of Kumar, who was WR GM. Singla close to rly minister P K Bansal New Delhi: V Singla, nephew of railway minister Pawan Bansal, is seen to be the minister’s constituency manager and is a familiar figure in his entourage in Chandigarh, which is Bansal’s Lok Sabha constituency.

The CBI has also registered a case against Sandip Goyal of Chandigarh and one Manjunath in the corruption case involving Singla and former WR GM Mahesh Kumar.

The case could not have come at a worse time as the government is already battling several cases of sleaze. A person close to Bansal being held on corruption charges directly related to his portfolio is quite damaging for the minister. Singla, a resident of Sector 28, Chandigarh, isseenas a close associate of Bansal and is understood to look after the minister’s business interests and is involved in running his campaign.

Mahesh Kumar, who had taken over as member (staff) Railway Board and ex-officio secretary to the government of India, graduated in electronics and communication engineering in 1975 from University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee) and belongs to the 1975 batch of Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers(IRSSE).
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RAILWAY POSTING SCAM: Singla’s meteoric rise coincided with Bansal’s

42-Yr-Old Is Now Director Of 8 Firms
Chandigarh/Bathinda: From Punjab’s rural hinterland to Chandigrah’s swish set, 42-year-old Vijay Singla’s rise has been meteoric, and coincided with maternal uncle and railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal’s rising political fortunes.

Singla, who was nabbed by the CBI on Friday night for allegedly receiving a bribe amount of Rs 90 lakh in Chandigarh, is a director in eight firms operating from the UT. Till some time ago, he was on the board of three other companies.

Singla, whose family hails from Bhatinda, interestingly rose to be part of the elite business and political circles in the same 15-year period when Pawan Kumar Bansal made giant leaps in his political career.

He acquired businesses with diversified interests in real estate, cement, packaging, infrastructure and steel manufacturing over the last decade, thanks to his proximity to Bansal.

According to documents available with the Union ministry of corporate affairs, Singla is a director on J T L Infra Limited, Jagan Industries, Himani Steels Private Limited, Chetan Industries Limited, Jagan Realtors Private Limited, MVM Metal and Alloys Private Limited and Radian Ferrometals Private Limited.

The parent company, Jagan Industries, came into existence in January 1990 when Bansal was preparing to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Chandigarh. Bansal won the elections from the city in 1991.

Many of these companies soon began flourishing and Singla was frequently spotted hobnobbing with industrialists from different parts of the country at party events. According to sources in the local Congress, he would often facilitate meeting of captains of industry with Bansal at his industrial complex on the edge of Chandigarh.

Singla’s latest venture is Chandigarh-based Mirage Infra Limited, which is a subsidiary of Jagan Group, and is running a commercial project, Acropolis, in the union territory. Most of his industrial units are in Dera Bassi. He owns a plush showroom in sector 28, where he had opened several offices.

After selling off the shares in edible oil mills in Bhatinda, the family had begun manufacturing steel at Gobindgarh near Ludhiana.

Did Singla’s kin hide cash, files?
Chandigarh:There was high drama on Friday night when CBI sleuths from Delhi, assisted by local police, swooped down on Vijay Singla’s bungalow in Chandigarh.The CBI team reached Singla’s residence in Sector 28 at 10.35pm. But sources said few members of Singla’s family, who seemed to have prior information of the raid — rumoured to have been leaked by an assistant sub-inspector — drove out of the house. It is feared the family may have removed some cash and documents. IGP R P Upadhyay, however, refuted allegations of a leak, even though the suspect cop was transferred to police lines on Friday night itself. TNN
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RAILWAY POSTING SCAM: All railway posts are on sale for the right price, say insiders

New Delhi: Over the past few years, the railway ministry has tweaked conventions in the name of competence to open up senior appointments to far greater manipulation than ever in the past. Many of these appointments — such as members and chairman of the railway board — are on sale for the right price and through the right contacts, insiders in the ministry say.

This was revealed by the CBI following the arrest of Mahesh Kumar, member (staff) of the board who was trying to become member (electrical). Railway circles are abuzz about several other close relatives and at least one personal staff of Bansal being active in fixing appointments and contracts in the ministry.

With an annual budget of Rs 63,363 crore, the Railways awards numerous lucrative contracts and railway board members and chairman have very crucial roles in awarding all the big contracts. That further adds to the attractiveness of these posts, say senior officials.

By tweaking the appointment norms — now even general managers are being appointed directly as chairman of the board — political masters, especially the railway minister, are able to play favourites while ignoring many competent officers, say railway insiders.

The appointments to the railway board, the apex decision making body of the Indian Railways, have, raised a stink in recent times. They also point out that the widespread influence of political manipulation and money power has also resulted in general demoralisation among professionals. The most contested has been the post of the chairman, railway board. The present chairman, a former general manager, was appointed directly to the post though he was not a member of the board — an unusual, but legal, move. Usually, from the 16 GMs in the ‘open line’ for promotion, members of the board are appointed and the seniormost from among the members is usually appointed the chairman.

Over the past three-four years, especially under Mamata Banerjee, the rules were tweaked and traditions altered. So, Kumar, who was arrested by the CBI on Friday, was trying to become member (electrical, superseding several seniors. He only managed to become member staff in the first effort, but was in negotiation with Singla to become member electrical when the incumbent was hoping to become the next chairman of the board.

Sources say the post of member (engineering) was kept vacant for almost three months, which was extremely unusual because of the sensitivities of the post. But it fell in the pattern of recent murmurs about almost everything in Railways being on sale for the right price. A few days ago, a new member (engineering) has taken charge.

Those who do not find favour with the powers that be are sidelined, or their appointment scuttled with frivolous complaints. In the case of Rajeev Bhargava, general manager of Rail Wheel Factory, his appointment as GM (open line), which would have made him eligible to be a member of the Board, was stalled by the railway minister, despite the Cabinet Committee on Appointments and cabinet secretary repeatedly pointing out the frivolous nature of the complaint against him.
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RAILWAY POSTING SCAM: CBI was sure of netting big fish

Took Cash-Counting Machine To Raid Singla’s Residence, Office
New Delhi: The CBI was so confident of a big haul that its team went with a cash-counting machine to residence and office of railway minister Pawan Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla on Friday.

The agency had recovered Rs 90 lakh from Singla, a key accused in “cash-for-promotion” scam.

The phone tap and continuous surveillance led the agency to Singla’s residence in Chandigarh just as the money was being handed over to him on behalf of Manjunath and others.

The original deal was brokered by Singla’s close friend in Chandigarh, Sandeep Goyal, and Manjunath, who acted as conduit for Mahesh Kumar, who was eyeing the post of member (electrical). Initially, an alleged bribe of Rs 10 crore was offered, but later it was scaled down when Kumar was made a member (staff).

CBI found that Manjunath, a railway contractor and promoter of GG Tronic Ltd based in Bengaluru, was well known to Kumar for several years.

Sources said Manjunath and Kumar were not happy with the post of member (staff) and wanted the more lucrative post of member (electrical). Even after Kumar was appointed member (staff), Manjunath was pushing Goyal to ensure Kumar gets the signal and telecom portfolio that falls under the jurisdiction of member (electrical).

The telephone calls of Singla, Goyal, Manjunath, Kumar and others were being monitored for the last few days before the CBI decided to make the arrests.

Sources said the conversations have revealed that talks were on for a lateral shift of Kumar as member (electrical) after the current incumbent was made chairman railway board, Vinay Mittal, who is slated to retire next month.

Manjunath, a key conduit for Kumar, along with other railway contractors, who are on the CBI’s radar, was allegedly paying bribe to ensure Kumar becomes member (electrical) which will help them to corner tenders worth crores in their favour.

The well-prepared CBI raided simultaneously at Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bengaluru to nab Singla, Kumar and Manjunath.

UPA govt on ventilator, says Varun Gandhi
Lucknow:BJP national general secretary Varun Gandhi on Saturday led a protest rally against the UPA government here as he took charge of his party in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the next year’s Lok Sabha polls. Varun said the history of the UPA government was repeating itself while referring to the corruption charges against railway minister Pawan Bansal’s nephew. “Be it the 2G scam, coal scam or the Commonwealth Game scam, the government is facing one charge of corruption or the other,” he said. “The 2G scam was worth Rs 1.76 lakh crore. What does that amount mean to UP? It means several lakh schools and appointment of many more teachers.”

He hinted the elections may be held much before time, saying the government had lost confidence of the people and was “running on ventilator”. TNN
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RAILWAY POSTING SCAM: Lure of lucre made Kumar fall for deal
New Delhi: It was “pure business” that made Mahesh Kumar strike the deal for his promotion. Considered a bright officer by both his senior and junior colleagues in the Railways, he was eyeing the post of member (electrical) for long and went to the extent of’buying’ it, thanks to the huge funds riding on the job profile.

In fact, the incumbent is responsible for around 35% of spending, which works to about Rs 2,500 crore, of the national transporter’s total expenditures. A member (electrical) is a lucrative post largely because the officer has the final say in policy decisions related to signalling and telecom, along with other electrical works.

Kumar, who is a 1975 batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers, was keen on bagging the post. Over the years, he had learnt the tricks of the trade since he had worked in the railway board as executive director (signal), executive director (telecom) and additional member (signal).

He was fully aware of the discretionary powers of the technical post like finalizing technical specifications for private companies working in the field of signalling and telecom. A highplaced source said the modus operandi in the sector is “tailor-made tender specifications: to give advantage to a particular private firm.

The “cash-for-promotion" scam is confirmation of rampant corruption in the Railways. A senior official pointed out that money changing hands for promotions and transfers is not new, but this has seldom come out in public domain.

The scam has come at a time when the railway board — the highest decision-making body of the national transporter — is in for changes as three members retired last week and others are retiring next month.

Railway officials want to find place in the seven-member board, which sits over crore of funds and the decisions relating transporter's massive budget of Rs 63,363 crore for the current fiscal is routed through it.

The “cash-for-promotion” scam can be seen in the present scenario when three members — member (staff) A K Vohra, member (mechanical) Keshav Chandra and member (traffic) K K Srivastava retired on April 30, while chairman railway board Vinay Mittal and finance commissioner Vijaya Kanth are slated to retire on June 30.

The Railway Board had recently appointed Subodh Jain as member (engineering), Mahesh Kumar as member (staff) and Arunendra Kumar as member (mechanical). The post of member (traffic) is yet to be filled up.
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RAILWAY POSTING SCAM: UPA staring at losing two ‘tainted’ mins
Speculation Rife That Govt May Not Last Full Term
New Delhi: Hit by yet another corruption scandal, the Manmohan Singh government is staring at the possibility of two ministers — law minister Ashwani Kumar and railway minister Pawan Bansal — resigning in the face of an all-around Opposition onslaught.

As the Congress assesses the damage, the Manmohan Singh government’s political gameplan to end its tenure with a blaze of populist projects like food security and land compensation bills has received a hefty blow.

The embarrassing arrest of Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla for accepting bribes for a senior railway appointment can scupper the government’s attempt to argue that while it is keen on legislating benefits for pro-a a m a a d m i, an obdurate Opposition, led by BJP, was standing in the way by disrupting Parliament.

The strategy to paint the BJP as overly obsessed with issues like Coalgate and being out to garner political mileage was intended to put pressure on smaller Opposition groups, but the Bansal saga will almost certainly ensure Parliament does not transact business next week.

Scenting an opportunity to corner a wounded government, the Opposition is raising the tempo on the CBI arresting Singla and also demanding Kumar’s resignation for vetting a CBI report on the Coalgate investigation.

With both Bansal and Kumar looking vulnerable, the Opposition is hoping to end the Budget session on May 10 with two trophies in the bag. This would further reduce the UPA’s already depleted political capital and fuel speculation about the government’s ability to last its full term till April, 2014.

“The Prime Minister must immediately seek the resignation of the railway minister. The bribe giver and taker have been caught. One is a nephew of Bansal who could not be unaware of what was happening,” said BJP leader Prakash Javadekar.

Congress media in-charge Janardan Dwivedi sought to counter the demand by saying the Opposition was in the habit of demanding resignations and this has become a “disease”.

Although Congress seemed to back Bansal, at least for now, its response invited more Opposition attacks with Javadekar wanting to know whether the ruling party intends to reward Bansal for a job well done.

The Samajwadi Party had a harsh word for Bansal too, with party general secretary Ram Asrey Kushwaha saying the minister must quit on moral grounds. CPM’s Sitaram Yechury also sought the minister’s resignation and Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien said the incident exposed the “retail bribery” in the UPA.

The railway scandal threatens to reduce the feel-good factor the Congress is anticipating in the Karnataka poll where it looks set to trounce the BJP and return to power. Resignations of the two Chandigarh politicians will certainly take away some of the shine.

With Bansal showing no signs of putting in his papers, the Opposition is certain to kick up a ruckus in Parliament when it meets on Monday unless the minister throws in the towel before that or is forced out of office by the Congress high command.

The Congress will be left with no defence against the Opposition onslaught as any ditherers in the non-UPA ranks will be silenced by the developments. Not only will the ruling party’s hopes of passing crucial legislation be dashed, ramming through legislation will be seen as a thoroughly inappropriate action.

Apart from the railway bribery scandal, the government has to contend with the CBI filing an affidavit before the Supreme Court listing the changes made by the law minister in its status report on the Coalgate investigation on Monday. Thereafter the court is to hear the case two days later.

Congress managers will remain on tenterhooks and unless the party high command undertakes surgical measures, it will be a testing time for the ruling coalition.
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RAILWAY POSTING SCAM: Pawan Bansal should resign, say BJP, CPM
New Delhi: The BJP and CPM on Saturday demanded Pawan Bansal’s resignation, disregarding the railway minister’s defence that he could not be punished if his nephew allegedly took bribes for fixing appointments to the Railway Board.

Dismissing Bansal’s claim that he never let his sister’s son, Vijay Singla, influence his decisions, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said: “It is an open-and-shut case. People who have taken money was clearly acting on behalf of the minister. Neither Singla nor the contractors who organized the transaction make the appointments. It is the minister who makes the appointment”.

The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha further said : “Just as his wife Ceasar’s nephew should also be above suspicion”. However, he added that it was not just a case of moral culpability. “In any other country, Bansal would have been behind the bars”.

He also joined issue with Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi for the latter’s statement that the Opposition has developed a disease of demanding resignations.” Given the epidemic of corruption that has swept the government, Opposition has every right to demand resignations,” Jaitley said.
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RAILWAY POSTING SCAM: Rail official’s arrest bares rot in govt appointments

New Delhi: The arrest of a senior railway official brings into the open one of the worst-kept secrets on government appointments.

It’s not just the neighbourhood station house officer who is handpicked by political masters, but the central government too has its share of appointments that are often shrouded in controversy. From secretaries of key ministries to heads of public sector banks and state-run companies and regulators, the rot has spread—at a faster pace in recent years—far and wide.

While nobody is willing to come on record, often money or sweetheart deals swing appointment processes, which go through multiple layers. Often, there are hushed whispers of huge money changing hands and private companies willing to be partners, hoping to encash their investment some time later.

Mahesh Kumar, a member of the Railway Board and a secretary-rank officer, occupies the top rung in the hierarchy of the state-run transporter and sits on its apex decision-making panel. Irregularities have become the norm

Over 15 years ago, it was the revenue department where appointments even at junior level were said to have been rigged with top officials involved in fixing transfers. In fact, the MDMK’s Gingee Ramachandran was forced to resign after allegations surfaced that his personal assistant was facilitating appointments. He, however, made a comeback into the NDA government after no evidence of his involvement was found.

Since then, irregularities seem to have become the norm in the financial sector as well as appointments to top posts in state-run companies. There are murmurs of officials accepting favours to appoint “chosen ones” in larger entities. “Instances of persons with mediocre records through their career getting plum jobs while top performers end up in insignificant departments or small public sector companies have increased,” said a former bureaucrat.

There have been whispers about former bank chiefs who restructured loans of private companies ahead of an election getting rewarded with post-retirement jobs, including one of them making it to a regulatory agency. Another chairman almost made it but for a lastminute objection by the CVC.
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Surojit Gupta & Sidhartha TNN
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RAILWAY POSTING SCAM: Yet Another Scam Rocks UPA-II

Railway Minister’s Nephew Held For Promising Officer A Top Job For 10 Crore Bribe Cong Caught In A Bind Over Bansal’s Fate

New Delhi: Railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Saturday washed his hands of his nephew and key political aide, arrested for taking bribes for fixing a key appointment in the Railway Board. But Bansal failed to secure an “all clear” from the Congress leadership that is reeling under a spate of scams and controversies.

Bansal told both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that he never let Vijay Singla, his sister’s son who minds the minister’s political and business interests in his hometown Chandigarh, influence his official decisions. The nephew and others have been accused of corruption for allegedly seeking bribes from Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar for fixing appointments through the minister.

However, the Congress’s core group, which discussed the fallout of the latest corruption scandal to hit the UPA, deferred a decision on his continuation in the Cabinet, signalling that it was not ready to give the minister the benefit of doubt yet. The core group will meet again on Sunday.

There was no confirmation of reports that Bansal had offered to resign even as he proclaimed himself innocent. Deferring the decision is significant because Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi had in the afternoon cited the railway minister’s defence to dismiss the opposition’s demand for his resignation.

The indecision, viewed against the backdrop of the perception of Bansal being a “clean person” and the PM’s personal choice for the crucial infrastructure ministry, suggested that the decision would be shaped by the larger context where scandals and allegations of corruption against UPA functionaries have dented the image of the coalition. The embarrassment comes as the fate of another Punjab Congressman, law minister Ashwani Kumar, appeared to be hanging by a slender thread.

Congress leaders grappled with the new crisis even as the CBI’s dragnet closed in on Bansal, with sources revealing the agency might seek clarifications from Bansal, his two sons Amit and Manish, and at least one more nephew in connection with the bribery case.

Oppn scents blood, bays for 2 ministers
The UPA is staring at the possibility of losing two ministers—law minister Ashwani Kumar and railway minister Pawan Bansal—in the face of the opposition onslaught, dashing its plan to end its tenure with a blaze of populist projects like the food security and land bills. The Bansal scam is threatening to take some shine off the victory the party is expecting in Karnataka.

2G, CWG, ADARSH, COALGATE...NOW, JOBS FOR SALE
THE DEALVijay Singla (above), nephew of railway minister Pawan Bansal, caught accepting Rs 90 lakh as part payment for appointing Western Railway GM Mahesh Kumar as member (staff) on Railway Board

CBI tapped Singla and Kumar’s phones. Deal struck at a Delhi hotel. Six calls between Singla and Kumar when Bansal visited Mumbai on April 16.

Kumar is now suspended
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Pawan Bansal | Cleared Kumar’s name for consideration of the Cabinet committee on appointments. No direct link to payment yet, but may be quizzed by CBI soon

Vijay Singla | While Bansal denies he has any business or financial dealing with Singla, the nephew is seen as the minister’s key political agent. Their proximity is well known

POLITICAL FALLOUT
Congress core group reserves judgment on Bansal, to meet again on Sunday after voting in Karnataka ends. Rising oppn furore raises cost of backing Bansal

Oppn seizes opportunity, demands Bansal’s resignation along with that of law minister Ashwani Kumar, in the dock for “vetting” the CBI status report on Coalgate.

Set to block Parliament 

Mahesh Kumar | He had a reputation of being bright, efficient. Wanted to be member (electrical) but settled for member (staff) as an interim arrangement

Manjunath | Promoter of GG Tronics Ltd in Bangalore, was conduit for the bribe on behalf of Mahesh Kumar. Goes back a long way with him

Sandeep Goel | Rail contractor known to Singla. Was in touch with Manjunath, a rly supplier working for Kumar Kumar wanted to continue as Western Rlys GM

Garg has already been named in the FIR CBI filed on Friday evening alleging that Mahesh Kumar, member (staff) of the Railway Board, agreed to pay Rs 10 crore for an appointment as member (electrical) on the board. The money, which was to go to Singla through a Chandigarh-based railway contractor Sandeep Goel, was to be raised by a group of fellow businessmen dealing with train equipment who were promised business from railways by Kumar.

As per the understanding, Kumar was to pay half of the agreed amount upfront before the appointment and the rest after his appointment as member( electrical). Kumar could not get the post of his choice, and was appointed as member (staff) instead.

He was unhappy but Goel and others asked him to be patient and wait for the elevation of the current member (electrical) Kulbhushan as the chairman of the board after the retirement of the incumbent Vinay Mittal in June.

Kumar agreed but wanted to continue as general manager of Western Railways while being on the board. Goel accepted the demand in return for an additional Rs 2 crore in bribe. CBI on Friday recovered Rs 90 lakh, allegedly the first installment of the transaction, and has arrested Singla.

Appointments of chairperson of the board, its members (who are equivalent in rank to Union secretary) and general managers of railways are handled directly by the rail minister. Although the final approval rests with the Appointments Committee of Cabinet, the panel usually goes by recommendations of the minister.

The Opposition cited this to argue that Bansal was culpable “not just morally but even criminally”, while demanding his dismissal.

Although Singla is known in Chandigarh as Bansal’s confidant, the rail minister denied the charge of any wrongdoing. He said he had no knowledge of the deal that Singla and others were negotiating with Mahesh Kumar, who was placed under suspension on Saturday evening. “Though a close relative, he or any other relative of mine does not and cannot meddle in my official functions or influence my decisions.”

However, sources said that CBI is proceeding on the assumption that it was impossible for Mahesh Kumar to have agreed to pay such a hefty sum unless he was confident about Singla’s ability to leverage his family ties and get him the job.

Official sources said they had been tapping Mahesh Kumar’s phone for three months. Two Delhi-based businessmen, Samir Sandhir and Rahul Yadav, Faridabad-based businessman Sushil Daga and Bansal’s relative Ajay Garg have been named in the FIR along with the arrested persons, Mahesh Kumar, Singla, Chandigarh-based businessman Sandeep Goel and Narayan Rao Manjunath of Bangalore, allegedly the main financier.
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