Delhi minister Atishi alleges scam worth Rs 850 crore, seeks removal of top bureaucrats

Delhi Vigilance Minister Atishi has recommended Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to immediately remove Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and Divisional Commissioner Ashwani Kumar from their respective posts in connection with an alleged land scam.

In her report, Atishi alleged the involvement of the Chief Secretary in enhancing the compensation award for a land parcel in Bamnoli village, which was acquired for the Dwarka Expressway, in order to provide illicit profits to a company linked to his son, Karan Chauhan.

The preliminary report, which runs into 670 pages, stated that the “connections and the chronology give the appearance of complicity” of Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar with DM Southwest Hemant Kumar and landowners in the land acquisition on the Dwarka Expressway.

According to sources, the report also unveils a conspiracy by senior officers of Delhi’s Vigilance Department, including Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, to undervalue the scale of the scam as Rs 312 crore when the actual compensation award would have resulted in an illicit gain of Rs 850 crore to the beneficiaries.

Atishi stated in her report that it was obvious Naresh Kumar's son has business connections with the landowners who are benefiting. The events since Naresh Kumar became Chief Secretary of Delhi suggest he might have used his power to increase compensation for the beneficiaries linked to his son's business.

The report also alleges that Ashwani Kumar repeatedly refused to provide files about this matter, which appears suspicious and raises questions about his complicity.

In her report, Atishi urged that files related to this matter be seized from them, to prevent any "tampering or destruction of evidence". The Delhi minister also recommended disciplinary proceedings against Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and Divisional Commissioner Ashwani Kumar.

She has also asked the report to be sent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) so that the agency has a complete review of the facts discovered to add to the existing CBI inquiry.

"The investigations in the present matter have given rise to a reasonable suspicion that the Chief Secretary may have unduly favored other companies in which his son is a director, or may have used his power and influence on other persons to accrue unlawful benefits to other companies in which his son is a director. However, this issue is being investigated and will be covered in another report and placed before the Chief Minister," the Vigilance Minister added.