The Rs 2.2lakh bribe, allegedly accepted by the principal secretary of Delhi government’s welfare department, seems to be quite a meager sum when compared to the luxurious items the IAS officer owned.
While principal secretary Sanjay Pratap Singh and his PA were arrested by CBI in an operation on Wednesday evening. The problems of the senior bureaucrat, who was nearing retirement, seem to have multiplied overnight.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation Singh, besides being the owner and co-owner of at least eight properties in Delhi-NCR area, had quite a taste of expensive items, which have now been allegedly recovered by CBI sleuths.
Expensive watches, more than 300 bottles of foreign liquor (including expensive scotch) and jewelry, whose net worth is yet to be calculated are some of the items recovered by the CBI. All the items have now have been confiscated by the agency after sleuths conducted multiple raids at atleast eight flats owned by the senior bureaucrat and his wife.
The flats that CBI raided, also have come under scanner of investigators who have calculated the net worth of the properties somewhere between 15-20 crores rupees. Among the flats, three are located in Noida, two in Greater Noida, two in Gurgaon and one in posh Safdar Jung enclave area of south Delhi. The flats in NCR are also located in some of the most expensive sectors and most of them are currently occupied by tenants.
“Pearl Gateway, Amrapali, Unitech High and Unitech Habitat are among the gated societies and towers where the CBI on Wednesday conducted raids. All of the flats are located in some of the most expensive sectors of NCR.
For instance Sector 44,15, 50 of Noida and Greater Noida and Sector 56 in Gurgaon. We will investigate if the said properties qualify for a disproportionate assets case against the accused,”said an official source.
Singh, (an IAS officer of 1984 Batch of AGMUT cadre), was appointed as the head of department of welfare of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and minorities in August 2014, when the national capital was being governed by L-G Najeeb Jung. But the agency claims that he had been under scanner for quite some time now.
The reason for keeping Singh under radar is attributed to the multiple complaints lodged against him often accusing the officer of using government funds for personal use.
Singh had been accused of taking a trip to Kasual, Lahol Spiti and Manali allegedly on government expenses when he was sent in as an observer during the 2012 assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh.
Another complaint against Singh is that of purchasing a Tata Sumo car in the late 90’s when he was project director in Urban Basic Services Programme.
He had later been accused of purchasing yet another car, this time a Maruti Suzuki, which he allegedly used for months before his department took notice of the same.
His journey came to an unlikely end on Wednesday evening when he was caught red-handed in a trap laid by the CBI. This was after a complainant, who is apparently an AAP volunteer, approached the CBI and accused Singh of demanding a bribe from him. AAP claimed that complaint did so on direction of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
The complainant’s firm was providing manpower in the form of security guards to the department of welfare and Singh had, through his PA asked for a bribe to clear certain bills.
The agency claimed after receiving a complaint from the owner of the firm, an undercover CBI official was sent in to meet the PA who first checked the money and allegedly kept Rs20,000 for himself. The remaining sum was taken outside welfare department’s Vikas Minar office in ITO area of Delhi where Singh was allegedly waiting in his car for his PA. As soon as the money was delivered to him, the CBI took him in custody.
A lesson for others, says Sisodia
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said the arrest of the bureaucrat will serve a lesson to those who indulging in corruption despite his government’s anti-graft measures.
He said, “When our chief minister Arvind Kejriwal says he will follow the corrupt people till hell, he means it. Whether that corruption is being committed by a minister or a junior staff, we will not spare them. SP Singh’s arrest proves that our government will not tolerate corruption.”
“I had also received some complaints about him, but there wasn’t any substantial evidence available. I had even conducted a surprise raid in his office, when I had discovered how he employed one security guard wherein on paper he had stated the employment of two security personnel. “