New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar and four others who were arrested on corruption charges were sent to five days police custody by the Patiala House Court on Tuesday.
It was learnt that the The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lawyer pleaded for 10 days police custody which the court has turned down.
While pleading against Kumar and others, CBI lawyer said, "The Delhi government is creating media hype as if Rajendra Kumar is a sheshnag (five headed snake) holding the government up on his head and if he goes then the government will go."
Meanwhile, during the hearing process the court has asked the CBI the motive behind the arrests and questioned why the agency waited for 7 months to arrest them, when cases against were registered in 2015.
Replying to the court's query, CBI said that he (Kumar) is a senior bureaucrat and investigations cannot happen fairly as he can influence the witnesses.
On Monday, the CBI Kumar and four others over an alleged Rs 50 crore scam on award of software contracts.
"There are allegations that he (Kumar) favoured private companies to make their way for tendering process. Further investigation is going on," a spokesperson for the investigating agency had said.
The CBI spokesperson had said there are allegations related to bribery and abuse of position against Kumar, Deputy Secretary Tarun Sharma. The others who were arrested are directors of Endeavour Systems Pvt. Ltd, Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Kumar and one Ashok Kumar.
The agency had registered a case against Kumar and others in December last year alleging that the officer had abused his official position by "favouring a particular firm in the last few years in getting tenders of Delhi government departments".
The arrests sparked off another round of confrontation between the Centre and the Delhi government with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleging a conspiracy to "paralyse" the Kejriwal government.
Comments
0 comment