AAP demands inquiry from Home Min over transfer of VAT official

A delegation of Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday met the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh over their demand for an inquiry into the transfer of VAT Commissioner Vijay Kumar, who AAP says had busted a hawala racket.

The party earlier had alleged that Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung did not consult the Centre before taking the decision.

The AAP leaders submitted a memorandum to Rajnath Singh saying the transfer was a “serious matter of corruption and violation of all existing government norms and rules”.

“An honest officer who busted a hawala racket was transferred within a week of him swooping on a big hawala racket,” senior AAP leader Ashutosh said.

He alleged that the LG consulted neither the Delhi government nor the centre before the move.

He and his colleagues Sanjay Singh and Dilip Pandey met the Home Minister in North Block for around 30 minutes and apprised him of the development that has triggered a fresh contention between the Centre and the city government.

AAP leaders said the home minister has promised to look into the matter.

“Rajnath-ji told us that even the home ministry was not taken into confidence before Kumar’s transfer,” party’s Delhi Convenor Dilip Pandey said.

Later in the day, the AAP leaders also met Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) chief M K Meena, demanding a probe into the matter.

Hawala racket
The AAP said the Value Added Tax department of Delhi had unearthed a major hawala racket by raiding several premises in Delhi.

“It was found that more than 200 companies were being run from a room and known hawala operator Naresh Jain was behind it.

“Before the operator could be nailed, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung abruptly transferred and relieved the VAT Commissioner, flouting all rules and norms,” AAP in a statement said.

“AAP feels it was done to scuttle the probe into the hawala racket,” the statement added.