As Delhi heads into yet another lockdown, the Central Bureau of Investigation has alleged “Misappropriation” Of ₹ 207 crore detected in Delhi shelter board which spells trouble for the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi.
The agency while alleging that an account in the name of the board was opened in the bank in October 2020 based on fake documents and the money was “misappropriated”, has registered a case against unknown officials of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and Bank of Baroda.
The FIR states that the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board showed an investment of ₹ 214 crores in 112 fixed deposits in Bank of Baroda between last September and March 31 this year, however, “….the preliminary investigation has revealed that only three of these FDRs (fixed deposit receipts) worth ₹ 6.01 crore are genuine and the remaining 109 FDRs of ₹ 207 crore are fake and not issued in the name of DUSIB,” read the FIR.
NDTV quoted CBI sources as saying, “the preliminary investigation has revealed that only three of these FDRs (fixed deposit receipts) worth ₹ 6.01 crore are genuine and the remaining 109 FDRs of ₹ 207 crore are fake and not issued in the name of DUSIB.”
In fact, according to NDTV, the board officials could not provide the original copies of FDRs and they had only the A4 copies of the said 112 FDRs.
It is pertinent to note that DUSIB is an autonomous body which functions under the ambit of the Delhi government. The chairperson of the board is none other than the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“It was alleged that during the year 2020-2021, DUSIB has transferred money from five different accounts of DUSIB maintained in Central Bank of India, Vikas Kutir, New Delhi to Bank of Baroda, Paharganj branch for the purpose of investing in FDRs, but the unknown officials of DUSIB in conspiracy with the unknown officials of Bank of Baroda diverted the said funds to the tune of ₹207.99 crore (approximately),” said CBI spokesperson R C Joshi in a statement.
Whereas DUSIB CEO Vijay Kumar Bidhuri in a statement said, “It’s a common practice in government departments to invest in FDs… This decision and procedure followed by the internal finance division is not directly handled by the CEO. Here, CBI is saying the FDs issued by Bank of Baroda are fake and only three are genuine. It’s a matter of investigation and DUSIB also wants that truth should come out at the earliest.”
In the advent of any incriminating evidence getting unearthed by the CBI, it will spell serious trouble for Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party.