CBI arrests Arvind Kejriwal's Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar for graft

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested Rajender Kumar, the Principal Secretary of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

According to reports, Kumar has been booked under charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption for allegedly favouring a private company in five contracts worth Rs 9.5 crore between 2007 and 2014.

CBI sources claimed that Rajender Kumar had emerged as the kingpin of the Rs 50 crore scam which began in 2006.

Kumar, a 1989 IAS officer of UT cadre, was called along with Tarun Sharma, a Deputy Secretary in Kejriwal's office, besides three other private persons for questioning at the CBI headquarters this morning.

After being questioned for half a day, the CBI decided to place the two officers under arrest along with a close aide of Kumar, Ashok Kumar and owners of a private firm Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Gupta.

The CBI had carried out searches at the Delhi Secretariat on December 16, 2015, saying it was investigating corruption charges against Kumar. However, Kejriwal had claimed that his office had also been raided, a charge that was debunked by the CBI.

All the five accused in the case including Kumar are to be presented before Delhi's Patiala House court on Tuesday.

"The allegations relate to bribery and abuse of official position by the said senior civil servant and others to favour a Delhi based private company in award of contracts of Delhi government," CBI's Chief Press Information officer R K Gaur
said.

Slamming the arrest, AAP leader and Delhi Minister Manish Sisodia claimed that this was being done to 'paralyse the CM's office.' He alleged that the Central government had 'stooped very low, this is all a conspiracy'.

Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay however said that Arvind Kejriwal needs to answer the people about corruption charges against his Principal Secretary.

Kumar was one of the Aam Aadmi Party’s first bureaucratic appointments during its 49-day rule in 2014. He is said to be close to the Chief Minister and was given charge of several important departments, including transport and education, before taking over as the CM’s secretary.