New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar at his residence in a corruption case. The agency claimed to have recovered foreign currency worth over Rs 3 lakh from Rajender's residence.
Kumar isn't cooperating with the CBI, said sources adding that he is not even opening his e-mail accounts. The sources said that the investigative agency has recovered papers of three immovable properties along with Rs 2.4 lakh cash from Rajender Kumar's residence.
According to the sources, the CBI conducted searches at 14 locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The CBI recovered another Rs 10.5 lakh from co-accused GK Nanda, GM TCIL and formerly MD ICSIL, the sources added
The raids took place after the Anti-Corruption Branch registered a case of criminal misconduct against Rajender Kumar and other private people. Some Delhi government officials had taken voluntary retirement scheme and floated a software company and Rajender Kumar was allegedly favouring them from many years in getting them contract.
Kumar's office is situated on the same floor as Kejriwal's in the Delhi Secretariat. After the raid the CBI sealed the entire floor which saw the AAP launching a no holds barred attack on the Centre and CBI.
The CBI came under fire for not informing the Chief Minister before conducting the raid and accused it of working at the behest of the Central government. The sources said that there is no legal requirement to inform Chief Minister or any other office before carrying out raids. This would be considered as a 'tip off' and that is totally detrimental to the investigations.
The sources said that the CBI as the premier investigating agency is mandated to investigate public servants involved in corruption - it just so happened that the investigation today lead them to the CM office. The CBI sources stressed that the office at the Delhi Secretariat was just one of the many locations raided which happened to be the Chief Minister's floor in the building.
The CBI is not probing the Chief Minister, the sources clarified.
Not wasting a moment, Kejriwal attacked the Prime Minister and called him coward and psychopath. "CBI raids my office. When Narendra Modi couldn't handle me politically, he resorts to this cowardice. Modi is a coward and a psychopath."
The ACB had on December 9 questioned Rajender Kumar in connection with alleged irregularities in conducting fitness tests for commercial vehicles. According to ACB sources, the queries mostly revolved around action taken by Kumar after the anti-corruption bureau submitted a report in 2013 in connection with the alleged irregularities, ACB sources said.
In 2013, Kumar, who is now Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was the transport commissioner.
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