Rajendra Kumar, who was arrested in a corruption case, was appointed Principal Secretary in February 2015, when the Arvind Kejriwal government came to power.
Highlights
- Rajendra Kumar is the kingpin of the case, says the CBI
- Deputy Secretary Tarun Sharma also arrested along with 3 others
- No Central government has stooped so low: Deputy CM Manish Sisodia
After a day of questioning, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar and Deputy Secretary Tarun Sharma were arrested in a Rs 50-crore corruption case, triggering another political flashpoint between the government and the Centre.
A furious
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called it an attempt to destabilise the Delhi government. "No Central government has stooped to such a low level," he said. "The rate of transfers, people being shunted out... all this is being done to paralyse the Aam Aadmi Party government," he added.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the case, said Rajendra Kumar is the kingpin of the scam. Three others were arrested in the case -- Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Kumar, directors of Endeavour Systems Private Limited, the firm at the heart of the controversy, and Rajendra Kumar's friend Ashok Kumar.
Rajendra Kumar has been accused of favouring Endeavour - a front company he had set up - providing work contracts without tenders to the tune of Rs 50 crore at a huge loss to the Delhi government between 2007 and 2015. In the process, the agency claimed, the two bureaucrats had taken undue benefits to the tune of Rs 3 crore.
Sources in the agency said Rajendra Kumar started Endeavour Systems along with Ashok Kumar in 2006, to provide IT solutions and software. The company was also empaneled with Public Sector Units to get government work without tenders.
On December 15, 2015, the CBI conducted a raid on Rajendra Kumar's office at the Delhi Secretariat, leading to a huge confrontation between the Delhi government and the Centre. The agency later said the documents seized "prima facie reflect criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct and abuse of official position by the accused persons".
Rajendra Kumar is a 1989 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, who was appointed Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister in February, when the Aam Aadmi Party came to power for the second time. Like Mr Kejriwal, he is also an IIT alumnus.