Gather evidence against corrupt officials, Delhi CM tells Ministers

New Delhi :  Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday ordered collection of evidence against five bureaucrats — including Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and four of his predecessors — accused by a whistle-blower of taking bribes from corrupt officials.

“Directed Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Minister (Vigilance) to meet the complainant and get all evidence,” Kejriwal tweeted.

Dr Avinash Kumar, a whistle-blower working in a Delhi government hospital, in his complaint to the President of India, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Central Bureau of Investigation, had given details and evidence of the alleged cover-up by these five officials.

Kumar said that all complaints lodged against corrupt officials are either dumped without inquiry or forwarded to the very officer against whom the complaint was filed.

“The Chief Secretary — also the Central Vigilance Officer (CVO) of GNCTD — became ignorant towards inquiries into corruption. He deliberately stopped forwarding the inquiry reports having ‘vigilance angle’ and corruption to the CVC and thus shielded the corrupt in exchange of bribe,” Kumar claimed.

“Full protection and no action against the corrupt are sufficient to prove that the Chief Secretaries of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delh (GNCTD) indulge in criminal misconduct by taking bribes of Rs 10 lakh per annum from the corrupt,” the whistle-blower said.

The complainant said that “it is the heat of tax-free cash bribery business which restricts the CVOs to perform their assigned duty against the corrupt.”

The letter, dated July 15, lists all files and memorandums wherein inquiries were needed but the documents were either dumped or are still pending for action.

He has listed over 49 cases referred by the Central Vigilance Commission to the Central Vigilance Officers of GNCTD that are pending.

 Published on: July 18, 2018 at 16:38 IST

IANS