Dwarka Motorway Scam: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was tasked by the Delhi government on Thursday with looking into the claims of a Rs 850 crore land acquisition scandal related to the Dwarka Motorway project. Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal gave the go-ahead for the case to be referred to both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
CBI Involvement Comes a Day After Vigilance Report Submission
The development occurs just one day after Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena received a report from Vigilance Minister Atishi regarding Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar’s alleged corruption in relation to the Dwarka Motorway project, which was sent by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who also demanded the bureaucrat’s immediate suspension and removal.
Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar Faces Serious Charges
Naresh Kumar, the chief secretary of Delhi, is charged with inflating land costs 22 times to benefit a business connected to his son Karan Chauhan. The 670-page preliminary report focuses on a plot of land in Bamnoli village that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) purchased for the Dwarka Motorway project. It claims that the land was part of a deal that saw land acquisition done at inflated rates, resulting in illegitimate gains of Rs 850 crore. The land was purchased in 2015 for a meagre Rs 75 lakh by a company connected to Naresh Kumar’s son.
Chief Secretary’s Son Linked to Profiting Landowners
It was clear from Atishi’s report that Naresh Kumar’s son had business ties to the landowners who were profiting. The circumstances surrounding Naresh Kumar’s appointment as Chief Secretary raise the possibility that he exploited his position to boost benefits for those connected to his son’s company. “Connections and chronology” cited in the study suggest that District Magistrate (South West) Hemant Kumar, Chief Secretary Kumar, and landowners engaged in the acquisition may have colluded. “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,” Atishi said.
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