Atishi submits third report on CS to Delhi LG

The minister alleged that the top bureaucrat resorted to “shadowboxing” to save the then-district magistrate Hemant Kumar.

Vigilance minister Atishi on Wednesday submitted a third supplementary report regarding the role of the chief secretary (CS) Naresh Kumar in the alleged enhanced valuation of a parcel of land acquired by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the Dwarka expressway project, and asked lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena to investigate his role in the case.

Delhi minister Atishi (ANI)

The minister alleged that the top bureaucrat resorted to “shadowboxing” to save the then-district magistrate Hemant Kumar, along with divisional commissioner Ashwani Kumar, from getting in the line of fire.

HT reached out to the LG office and the chief secretary but neither responded to queries seeking comments.

This is the third such report submitted by the vigilance minister against the chief secretary. The first alleged his involvement in the land acquisition process, the second report was claimed Naresh Kumar aided his son’s newly formed company to get an agreement signed with the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) free of cost without following the due tendering process.

READ | Atishi files report on complaint against Delhi’s chief secretary

This was followed by allegations that the chief secretary was trying to destroy evidence by allegedly removing all social media posts related to the company.

On Wednesday, Atishi submitted a third report asking the LG to investigate not just the actions of the then-district magistrate but also the role of the chief secretary and the divisional commissioner for allegedly giving inflated compensation to a private party for land acquired for the Dwarka expressway.

Wednesday’s report came a day after Saxena said that the chief secretary had already taken action against the DM at the time of land acquisition.

Requesting the LG to suspend the chief secretary, Atishi said that while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was already aware of the matter, the report of the directorate of vigilance has focused only on the actions of the erstwhile district magistrate Hemant Kumar, and has not looked at the culpability of the CS and the divisional commissioner.