Minister goes to ACB, quizzed for an hour

Transport Minister Gopal Rai voluntarily presented himself at the office of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), in Civil Lines, on Tuesday to join the investigation into allegations of corruption regarding the premium bus scheme.

Gurgaon firm to be examined next: ACB

After questioning Mr. Rai for over an hour, the ACB said it was preparing to examine representatives of the Gurgaon-based private bus company, which the AAP government was allegedly seeking to favour through its app-based premium bus service scheme.

Mr. Rai was accompanied by officials of the Transport Department.

Special Commissioner of Police (ACB), Mukesh Kumar Meena, spent nearly 90 minutes exhaustively examining documents related to the notification of the scheme, said a senior official of the unit.

After having examined Transport Secretary-cum-Commissioner Sanjay Kumar last week and Mr. Rai on Tuesday, sources in the ACB said the inquiry will now shift to ascertaining the role of the Gurgaon-based company, allegedly intended to be at the receiving end of pecuniary benefits from the AAP government through the scheme.

Sources privy to the details of the probe termed the possibility of Mr. Rai’s further re-examination this week as “quite low”.

Though he refused to directly comment on the same, Mr. Meena said: “Everyone associated with the scheme will be examined by the ACB over the coming days. The inquiry will be conducted on a daily basis.”

The anti-graft unit is probing allegations of corruption in the scheme after BJP legislator Vijender Gupta lodged a complaint.