Vijay Singla, the nephew of railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal arrested by the CBI on Friday along with others for allegedly taking a bribe of `90 lakh to ensure the promotion of a top railway official, is a multi-millionaire businessman from Chandigarh. Vijay Singla is the railway minister’s sister’s son and lives in the same sector — 28 — where the railway minister has a house in Chandigarh. The railway minister’s house number is 64 whereas Mr Singla lives in house number 105 in the same sector.
Mr Singla is a well known road contractor in Chandigarh. However, of late he has diversified his business and has a shopping mall under construction in a prominent area of Chandigarh. He has also ventured into real estate and is constructing a housing society in Dera Bassi, an upcoming suburb of Chandigarh.
Mr Singla rose to prominence in political circles in Chandigarh during the 2009 parliamentary elections when he was actively involved in election management for Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal. Sources say Mr Singla organised meetings of industrialists, traders and the Aggarwal Sabha for Mr Bansal and used to accompany him throughout the poll campaign.