Delhi BJP seeks FIR against Kejriwal for Delhi Jal Board scam

New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS) Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, said on Tuesday that the arrest of three persons in the Delhi Jal Board scam is not enough, and an FIR should be filed against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who, the BJP leader claimed, was fully aware of the irregularities in the board.

The Anti-Corruption Branch on Monday arrested two directors and the chief financial officer of two e-payment gateway firms in connection with the scam in Delhi Jal Board, in which several crores of rupees were allegedly siphoned during the collection of payments from the consumers.

Addressing a press conference here, Bidhuri said that in 2015, Delhi Jal Board had given authority to Corporation Bank to collect its bills, but the bank passed this work to another company which further handed it over to another company.

Instead of depositing the cash and cheques received from the consumers with the Jal Board, the company deposited them in fake accounts, Bidhuri said.

"This scam was going on in Delhi Jal Board since 2015. There was a nexus between board officials, fund collecting agents appointed by the Jal Board and the bank officials who embezzled hundreds of crores of rupees in this scam," the BJP leader said.

He also said that it is very surprising that at the end of 2018, this scam came to the notice of some senior officials of DJB, who found out that Rs 20 crore has been embezzled.

"When this scam came to light, these officials informed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as well, but instead of taking any action, he not only allowed the bank to continue with the contract, but also increased its per bill commission by Re 1. Earlier, they were given Rs 5 per bill as commission, which was increased to Rs 6 per bill," Bidhuri said.

The BJP leader added that Kejriwal must explain why the bank's contract was not terminated after the scam came to light.

"How did the bank's contract continue till 2020 even after the scam came to light in 2018? Why was the commission increased instead of taking any action? If he was honest and had no greed, why was the whole matter not immediately reported to the police," Bidhuri asked.

The BJP MLA also demanded that all the accounts of Delhi Jal Board should be sealed, and a CAG audit should be done.