Bangladesh Railways Minister resigns over corruption scandal

Dhaka, Apr 17 (ANI): Bangladesh Railways Minister Suranjit Sengupta has resigned in the wake of allegations that he took cash bribes from applicants seeking jobs on the state-run railway.

Sengupta is facing investigation for corruption after his personal secretary and two railway officials were found with 86,000 dollars in a minibus.

Sengupta, who denies all corruption charges, said he was resigning to preserve democracy and uphold transparency.

"I am stepping down even though I was not involved in the incident. A lot of people think if I stay at the helm of the ministry, the investigation could be influenced," The BBC quoted him, as saying.

"I took the decision for the sake of fair investigation, and to... uphold democracy," Sengupta added.

According to reports by Bangladeshi newspapers, Sengupta resigned after failing to convince the Prime Minister that he knew nothing about the money.

The three officials had allegedly stored the cash in the minibus and they told local newspapers that they were going to Sengupta's house with the money.

Meanwhile, Sengupta, who was appointed to his position four months ago, expressed the hope that 'truth' would be revealed throughout the investigation. (ANI)