Bribery scandal: Pawan Kumar Bansal meets PM

NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the wake of CBI arresting his nephew on bribery charges.

Bansal drove down to the Prime Minister's official residence and was closeted with him for about 20 minutes.

A sullen looking Bansal drove away from the Prime Minister's residence without speaking to reporters.

The meeting comes in the wake of the arrest of Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla by the CBI in connection with alleged bribery of Rs 90 lakh for fixing a top level position in the government.

Singla was arrested in Chandigarh for allegedly accepting Rs 90 lakh in cash from Manjunath, the conduit of Mahesh Kumar, recently promoted as Member (Staff), Railway Board. Kumar was allegedly trying to get a lucrative position as Member (Electrical), Railway Board.

Earlier in the day, Bansal had issued a statement distancing himself from the incident involving his nephew.

"Though a close relative, he or any other relative of mine does not and cannot meddle in my official function or influence my decision. There is also no business relationship between his and my family," he had said in the statement.