Sacked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kapil Mishra on Thursday made “serious allegations” against senior Delhi government functionaries in relation to the water tanker scam, which is alleged to have caused a loss of an estimated ₹400 crore to the State exchequer, in a detailed statement to the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB).
Irregularities in deals
Raids were also conducted by the ACB at the offices of the Public Works Department (PWD) by a team of field officers ostensibly to recover files and paper work pertaining to three separate FIRs that have been registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the founder of Roads Anti-Corruption Organisation (RACO), an NGO, Rahul Sharma alleging irregularities in the grant of contracts for roads and sewer lines in Delhi in 2015-16.
“Mr. Mishra has made serious allegations in a detailed statement which was recorded today (Thursday) and a raid was also conducted at the offices of the PWD; the unit cannot divulge any further information regarding the case as it may be inimical to ongoing investigations,” ACB chief Mukesh Kumar Meena told The Hindu .
Kejriwal named?
The anti-graft unit chief refused to confirm or deny whether Mr. Mishra, who presented himself at the ACB at noon and will do so again on Monday, had named Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal or two of his close aides in his statement in the interests of the ongoing investigation into the alleged scam related to the procurement of water tankers by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
According to a source, Mr. Mishra is understood to have alleged that a number of senior Delhi government functionaries were involved in “shielding” former Congress Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, under whose tenure the alleged scam unfolded in the DJB.
‘Bogus bills’
The raids at the PWD in north-west Delhi's Mukarba Chowk with the objective of recovering files related to alleged “bogus bills generated by non-existent companies for work which was not taken up in the first place” related to the construction of a drainage system. One of the three companies accused of fraud was being operated by Surender Bansal, Mr. Kejriwal's now deceased brother-in-law.
“I gave them all the information I had and got my statement recorded. I will go the ACB office again on Monday,” Mr. Mishra told reporters.
