Delhi top cop’s meet in rough weather

New Delhi: Outgoing Delhi police commissioner Alok Verma’s plan to address annual press conference on January 28 at New Delhi City Centre’s (NDCC) Convention Centre is likely to run into rough weather as the contracts related to civil and electrical works at the venue are already under CBI scanner. Mr Verma, who has also been appointed as full-time CBI director and is all set to take charge on February 1. It is reliably learnt that the annual conference of the police may take place at the Delhi police headquarters itself.

Sources said the CBI had registered a case against the then New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) chairman in connection with its probe related to alleged irregularities in awarding civil and electrical works at the NDCC Convention Centre. “Although, the CBI could not proceed further in the case as the agency was denied required permission against the public servant for filing the chargesheet,” sources said. It may create controversy for the newly-appointed CBI director if he decides to address the annual conference at the same venue as it could be perceived as “conflict of interest”, they added.

Mr Verma, a 1979 batch IPS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories cadre, was recently appointed as the new director of the investigating agency, CBI. The post of the director CBI was lying vacant for over one month following Anil Sinha’s retirement on December 2. Currently Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer of 1984-batch, is holding additional charge of the director CBI.

As far as CBI’s probe into NDCC is concerned, sources said, the agency had registered a case to probe the alleged irregularities in awarding contracts (worth Rs 16 crore) for civil and electrical works to a private firm in 2012.

“Probe by the agency had revealed that contract related to civil and electrical works were given to a private company in gross violation of rules and regulations. The agency had sought prosecution sanction against the public servant for filing chargesheet against him from the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in this regard, which was later denied,” sources said. The agency had earlier registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) to probe irregularities committed in awarding civil and electrical works at NDCC’s Convention Centre. Sources said there was enough evidence against the public servant and other NDMC officials in this case and that was the reason that the CBI had registered a regular case.