Delhi Jal Board (DJB) chairman Kapil Mishra on Tuesday said that while he fears he will be arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in the water tanker scam, the ‘accused’ former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit hasn’t even received a notice or summon.
Mr. Mishra said that the ACB has summoned him on July 4 regarding the scam, which he exposed.
“I have come to know from reliable sources that the ACB is planning to arrest me at the earliest,” Mr. Mishra told journalists.
“Congress leader Sheila Dikshit headed the Delhi government for 15 years till December 2013. Why is the BJP after us and not her?” Mr. Mishra asked, adding that he was not afraid of going to prison. “My fight against corruption will continue even if I am sent to jail,” Mr. Mishra said.
Two weeks ago, ACB chief M.K. Meena had told the media that an FIR against CM Arvind Kejriwal has been registered and summoned Mr. Mishra as the government allegedly sat on the fact-finding report for months.
Justifying his stand, Mr. Mishra said he had submitted the entire fact-finding report of the alleged scam with all evidence against Sheila Dikshit to the Lieutenant-Governor. “But no action against her was being taken. The ACB is not calling Ms. Dikshit, instead they registered an FIR against Arvind Kejriwal,” he said.
He alleged that the ACB is now being used by the Centre to target the AAP ministers and Delhi government officials.
Giving details of the action taken by the AAP government, Mr. Mishra said that they had filed three FIRs against Ms. Dikshit in different matters, but the ACB did not take any action against her. Mr. Mishra claimed that even the vigilance department sent 38 cases to the ACB to file an FIR, but it did not file any case.
Last year, the AAP government had constituted a fact-finding committee to probe the irregularities in hiring some 385 stainless-steel water tankers by the DJB in 2012 during Congress’s rule.
The report was submitted to Mr. Kejriwal in August 2015 highlighting the alleged corruption of Rs 400 crore in the process of awarding tenders for hiring water tankers, and recommended an FIR against Ms. Dikshit.
However, the ACB registered an FIR against Mr. Kejriwal and Sheila Dikshit on June 20.
