Former railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's personal secretary Rahul Bhandari is facing a probe by the Punjab government for a Rs 97.5-lakh flat in Noida which he bought last year after taking a 'hefty loan' from Bansal's chartered accountant Sunil Gupta. A Punjab cadre IAS officer, Bhandari was named on Wednesday in the preliminary enquiry by CBI in the railway bribery case. 

Bhandari, a 1997 batch officer who took central deputation from 2009 to become PS to Bansal, had been asked thrice by the state government -- between September 2012 and April 2013 - to disclose the source of the money for purchasing the flat. TOI is in possession of the inquiry letters sent by the personnel department of Punjab government to Bhandari. 

He had told the Punjab government in June last year that he had secured Rs 57-lakh loan from Canara Bank and Rs 30 lakh as loan from Sunil Gupta, who is also his CA, to purchase the Noida flat. TOI accessed the officer's I-T returns which show Rs 44,770 as his basic pay and Rs 8,700 as his grade pay. 

"We are unable to understand the relation between Sunil Gupta, who you have shown as your friend, and the loan amounting to Rs 30 lakh. We need the I-T returns of Sunil Gupta to prove that he is eligible to offer you this huge friendly loan to buy the flat. The documents provided by you are insufficient," said a letter sent on July 29, 2012 by the Punjab government. Bhandari didn't reply to this letter. Two more letters were sent on October 25, 2012 and January 23 this year. 

The last letter was sent on April 29 this year, just three days before Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla was arrested with Rs 90 lakh in cash, said to be part of the bribe for a railway board appointment, at his Chandigarh residence. 

In a reply to the letter sent in January, Bhandari said: "I have mentioned time and again that I have withdrawn Rs 2.9 lakh from my PPF account. I have taken a loan of Rs 57 lakh from Canara Bank for a period of 30 years at a floating rate of interest with a monthly installment of Rs 52,140." He failed to produce I-T returns of Gupta, as asked for by the government. 

Sunil Gupta, who is also the chartered accountant for firms owned by Bansal's sons, including Theon Pharma, is under scrutiny for being appointed as a director with the Canara Bank in 2007 when Bansal was Union minister of state for finance. 

Firms owned by the Bansal family, including the railway minister's wife, sons and nephew Singla, received loans amounting to at least Rs 60 crore after Gupta was installed a director with the bank. 

According to the details submitted to the Punjab government, Bhandari's personal assets showed a manifold rise in 2009-2013, the period during which he worked with Bansal. 

In 2010, he purchased a plot measuring 355 square yards worth Rs 3 lakh. The value of this property rose to Rs 8 lakh. In July 2011, Bhandari purchased an agricultural land in Bathinda from Ajay Garg for Rs 9.97 lakh. The value of this property rose to Rs 30 lakh within a year. In August 2011, he purchased another residential property spread over 167 square yards worth Rs 15.57 lakh in Mohali. (Times of India)