PWD SCAM: KEJRIWAL’S NEPHEW ARRESTED, AAP CRIES VENDETTA
Nephew of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Anti-corruption Branch (ACB) on Thursday morning in connection with the PWD scam, even as the ruling AAP alleged that the move was aimed at ‘maligning' the image of the party chief and harass his relative.
Vinay Bansal, son of Arvind Kejriwal's brother-inlaw, was arrested from his residence in north-west Delhi's Pitampura area, a senior ACB official said.
Meanwhile, Vinay Bansal was sent to one-day judicial custody by a Delhi court. It denied the ACB'S plea for three-day police remand saying Bansal is not medically fit.
While talking about the case, sources said that M/S Renu company, owned by Vinay Bansal's late father Surender Bansal, was in a contract with the PWD for the construction of a drain in north-west Delhi's Bakoli village in April 2015. But in 2017, Roads Anti-corruption Organisation (RACO) founder Rahul Sharma lodged a complaint against the Delhi Chief Minister and his brother-inlaw for alleged irregularities in the grant of contracts for roads and sewer lines in Delhi in 2015-16. It was alleged that the bills sent to the PWD for the works, which were not completed, were “false and fabricated”.
Three FIRS, including one against a company run by Surender Bansal, were registered by the ACB in the PWD scam case on May 9 last year. Surender Bansal had passed away soon after he was named in the FIR registered against his company. Vinay Bansal was a dormant partner in the company.
Reacting to the development, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "In the last three years, the Delhi Police and the ACB worked only for the central govern- ment and the LG, and to trouble the AAP leaders and their relatives".
Aam Aadmi Party's spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said the facts of the case would make it clear that the arrest is totally “motivated” and an act of “political vendetta.” He said PWD had handed over completion certificate to the company and a third party certification was also done by IIT Roorkee.
He also added that Modi government has turned its attention to CM Kejriwal's relatives. “After having failed to find anything against Arvind Kejriwal, his MLAS and his ministers, Modi govt stoops low to target Kejriwal's relatives. Modi govt has got Arvind Kejriwal investigated by all agencies. They got Kejriwal raided by CBI and Delhi Police but did not get any evidence of any wrongdoing.”