Delhi: CBI raids minister's OSD's office, Kejriwal cries foul

Kejriwal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes money from the corporates but conducts raids on honest people.

New Delhi, Dec 30: The CBI on Friday raided Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain's OSD Nikunj Aggarwal's office at the Delhi Secretariat, drawing strong criticism from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia.

A separate Central Bureau of Investigation CBI team raided the office of Anup Mohta, Director of Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya in east Delhi's Geeta Colony.

"Our team visited Aggarwal and Mohta's offices to recover some documents related to the case," said a CBI official.

The agency took the step a day after registering a case against Aggarwal, a senior resident at Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya, and Mohta on charges of criminal conspiracy and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act on the basis of a complaint from Delhi government's Deputy Secretary Vigilance K.S. Meena.

Reacting to the CBI raid, Kejriwal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes money from the corporates but conducts raids on honest people.

"You (Modi) take bribes from Sahara and Birla groups, papers of which are in the public domain, but you conduct raids on the honest people. Do whatever you want, but we are not afraid of your CBI threats," Kejriwal said in a video message.

Kejriwal, who is visiting Punjab, said Modi raided minister Satyendar Jain's office on Friday while a year back, he had conducted raid at his (Kejriwal) office too but got nothing.

"You (Modi) have unleashed all official agencies, including the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department on us but got nothing," the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor said.

Kejriwal said he will tell the people that Modi took bribe from corporates like Birla and Sahara as Gujarat Chief Minister.

"I challenge you (Modi) to get all our works investigated but we will also set up a committee to probe Sahara and Birla bribery scams. Are you ready for this? Tell me, if you have the guts," Kejriwal said.

"Last year, I said Modi ji is a coward and a psychopath. It will be proved if you don't agree for the probe."

The Vigilance Department complaiant said Aggarwal was appointed Senior Resident (ortho) in Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya on an ad hoc basis on August 10, 2015, even though there was no proposal to engage a Senior Sesident and no such post was available, the CBI official said.

The complaint said no advertisement was issued by the hospital for Aggarwal's selection and no walk-in interview was conducted.

A few days after Aggarwal's appointment as Senior Resident, his services were requisitioned for appointment as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Delhi Health Minister, the complaint said.

As per the residency scheme, the Resident Doctors are engaged for working in hospitals, and not for other duties, it added.

Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia accused Modi of harassing the AAP government with the help of agencies like the CBI, saying raids were carried out to divert attention from the evidence on Modi taking bribes from the Sahara and Birla groups and from the failure of demonetisation.

"We will not be intimidated but continue to tell the country of your (Modi's) corruption, show them evidence of you accepting bribes. You should fear for your role in the Sahara-Birla bribe case," Sisodia said.

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) Delhi unit President Manoj Tiwari said Aggarwal's appointment as OSD was a clear case of nepotism.

"Had Kejriwal taken lesson from his Secretary Rajendra Kumar's matter and rectified irregularities in his government, today's (Friday) raid could have been avoided," he said.

IANS