- CBI arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s principal secretary Rajendra Kumar.
- Deputy Principal Secretary Tarun Sharma and three others were also arrested.
- The CBI has filed an FIR alleging irregularity in awarding government contracts between 2006-2014.
- Rajendra Kumar served as Principal Secretary to Sheila Dikshit and was retained by Arvind Kejriwal.
Principal Secretary to Delhi Chief Minister Rajendra Kumar is among the five people arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday evening.
Kumar who has been accused of favouring private companies in granting government contracts between 2006 and 2014, will be produced in a Delhi court on Tuesday.
Allegations Against Kejriwal’s “Most Trusted Man”
According to sources, the CBI had filed an FIR claiming wrongdoing in the awarding of contacts worth Rs 9.5 crore, but investigations point to irregularities in contracts worth Rs 50 crore.
The said contracts were awarded between 2006 and 2014 when Congress’ Shiela Dikshit was the CM of Delhi.
The CBI investigation against Rajendra Kumar claims that Kumar was allegedly involved in a corruption case of Rs 50 crore. The agency claims that in 2006, Kumar established an IT company named Endeavours System Pvt Ltd.
Rajendra Kumar allegedly established with his school mate Ashok Kumar and two others – Dinesh Kumar and Sandeep Kumar.
The CBI had registered a case against Kumar and others for alleged abuse of official position by favouring the firm for five Delhi government contracts. Following were four of the five departments:
- Health
- Trade and taxes
- Delhi Transport
- Urban Development
Kumar was posted in all these departments during his serving period as IAS officer. The following appointments and payments were made when he was in these departments:
- Health Department: He appointed Ashok Kumar as Project Manager, paying around Rs 2.5 crore to Endeavour System Pvt Ltd.
- Commissioner from May 2011 to October 2012: Tender worth Rs 4.7 crore allegedly awarded to Endeavour System Pvt Ltd.
- Yet another contract worth 10.35 crore is given to software company Microsoft, which allegedly paid a bribe worth Rs 1.5 crore to Kumar’s front company to bag the contract.
The charges pressed by the CBI are under sections 120-B of IPC (criminal conspiracy), and 13(2), 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (criminal conspiracy).
AAP Stands Ground, Claims Political Vendetta
In a hurriedly convened news conference, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed Rajendra Kumar’s arrest was a ploy to destabilize the AAP government.
The arrests, Sisodia said, come days after a survey from Punjab revealed that AAP will win the 2017 assembly elections by a wide margin.
Speaking to The Quint, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Ashutosh claimed the arrest is in line with “Modi government’s political vendetta against the Delhi government”.
Ashutosh said that even when the CBI court had questioned the investigating agency on the case against Rajendra Kumar, the CBI was unable to produce any concrete evidence.
Mr Modi is taking revenge on the people of Delhi. This has happened not once, but many times. This is clearly a political vendetta. He is taking revenge. I do not understand why he hates the people of Delhi so much.Ashutosh, Spokesperson, AAP
Kejriwal-Kumar Camaraderie
In December 2015, the CBI sealed the floor on which the Delhi Chief Minister’s office is situated to conduct a raid on the Principal Secretary’s office.
A furious Kejriwal had, at the time, called it an “undeclared emergency” by Prime Minister Modi. He had called it retribution for his government’s probe in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) scam in which it had named Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
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