Kumar faces ACB probe in 5 cases
1989-BATCH IAS OFFICER RAJENDRA KUMAR WAS ONE OF THE AAM AADMI PARTY GOVERNMENT’S FIRST BUREAUCRATIC APPOINTMENTS DURING ITS 49-DAY STINT LAST YEAR
NEW DELHI: The CBI probe is not the only one senior Delhi government bureaucrat Rajendra Kumar is facing at the moment.
According to documents accessed through the Right to Information Act, Kumar is facing probe in at least five complaints filed at the Delhi government’s anti corruption branch. The ACB has received over 7 different complaints against Kumar since February 2012.
In an RTI reply, dated August 28, the ACB confirmed that they are conducting an inquiry against Kumar in five cases. One complained filed by bureaucrat Ashish Joshi was forwarded to the CBI. It is on this complaint that the CBI registered an FIR and conducted raids on Tuesday.
Another, complaint according to the ACB has been forwarded to the commissioner of VAT. Kumar was earlier posted as the commissioner of VAT. “Total seven complaints were received in the Anti Corruption Branch. One complaint was forwarded to commissioner VAT Delhi, and one was forwarded to CBI Delhi. Five complaints are under inquiry in ACB,” reads the reply signed by the ACB public information officer. ACB sources said that another complaint against Kumar was filed by the India Chapter of the Transparency International, an organisation that campaigns against corruption.
RAJENDRA KUMAR
IS NO STRANGER TO CONTROVERSY
The CBI’S controversial raids in the Capital may have triggered an unprecedented political war of words between the Delhi government and the Centre but the man who is allegedly the target of the operation is no stranger to controversy.
Widely known in the bureaucratic circles for being a close aide of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, 1989-batch IAS officer Rajendra Kumar was one of the Aam Aadmi Party government’s first bureaucratic appointments during its 49-day stint last year.
The 48-year-old had held several important departments, including VAT and IT besides education, before taking over as the CM’S secretary. The 1989batch officer was at the centre of a pitched battle between the city government and lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung in June after Kejriwal gave additional charge of home department to his trusted officer, replacing Lg-appointed Dharam Pal as home secretary.
Kumar continued to hold the post, despite a missive from the Union Home Ministry, until senior IAS SN Sahai was appointed as home secretary by Kejriwal. But the AAP dug in its heels and refused to budge from its pick, resulting in a peculiar situation where two home secretaries were functioning from the Delhi Secretariat.