Atishi Submits inquiry report to Kejriwal in alleged corruption case involving CS Naresh Kumar

New Delhi: In an alleged corruption case involving Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, Delhi Vigilance Minister Atishi gave a 650-page preliminary inquiry report to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday. According to the investigation report, the Chief Secretary gave an 'illegitimate' advantage of Rs 850 crore to his son's company. According to the investigation report, the company acquired this land near the Dwarka Expressway in 2015 for just Rs 75 lakh. Now, land was acquired at a high cost, resulting in an 'illegitimate' profit of Rs 850 crore for the corporation.

It is also reported that the Chief Secretary handed government contracts to numerous other firms owned by his son, which are also being probed. There has been no immediate response from the Chief Secretary to this report.

According to the source, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sought a report from Vigilance Minister Atishi about a complaint filed against Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar. The complaint alleged that a relative of a person who received higher compensation for land acquired for a road project allegedly gave a job to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar's son. At the same time, the Chief Secretary referred to the allegation as "mudslinging."

According to a news agency, the Delhi government received this complaint in October, which the Chief Minister forwarded to Vigilance Minister Atishi, who was instructed to provide a detailed report with facts on the subject. According to Atishi's office, the charge against the Chief Secretary is that he "provided benefits worth crores of rupees to his son's company."

It is worth noting that the National Highway Authority of India purchased 19 acres of property in Bamnoli village in south-west Delhi in 2018 for the construction of the Dwarka Expressway, with the district administration initially fixing the compensation sum at Rs 41.52 crore. The compensation was challenged by landowners, and in May of this year, South West Delhi District Magistrate Hemant Kumar raised it to Rs 353.79 crore.

The Home Ministry then suspended District Magistrate Hemant Kumar in this case. The compensation sum of Rs 353.79 crore was recently dismissed by the Delhi High Court as well. According to the complaint, the son of the Delhi Chief Secretary works in a real estate firm, and a director of that company is the son-in-law of Subhash Chand Kathuria, one of the owners of the property bought in Bamnoli village. According to government sources, the compensation sum was raised to Rs 353.79 crore on May 15. At the same time, in a news conference on Monday, Delhi Government's Divisional Commissioner Ashwini Kumar claimed that the charges brought against Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar are untrue and part of 'dirty politics'.