The Hindu : New Delhi News : CBI raids houses of MCD official

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

CBI raids houses of MCD official

Staff Reporter

Case of disproportionate assets registered

NEW DELHI: : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday conducted raids at the residential premises of G. S. Matharoo, secretary to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Commissioner and claimed to have recovered cash and assets worth Rs. 85 lakhs. However, Mr. Matharoo denied any wrong doing and termed the raids as "witch-hunt'' aimed at harassing him for running a crusade against corrupt officials in the Corporation along with the MCD Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta.

The raids began in the wee hours on Tuesday when Mr. Matharoo was not at home and was staying at the house of his relatives in Gujranwala Town in North Delhi. The CBI conducted simultaneous raids at six premises, including those of his immediate relatives, including one at Naveen Shahdara in East Delhi, an ancestral property presently occupied by his father, Piara Singh who runs a family business. The CBI claimed to have recovered Rs. 22 lakh in cash from his father's house and some other documents, including Rs. 7.5 lakh worth of Fixed Deposit Receipts. The premier investigating agency has registered a case of possession of disproportionate assets against Mr. Matharoo and claimed that he owned residential properties in Kailash Kunj, Bijlee Apartments, Gujranwala Town.

On the other hand, Mr. Matharoo resumed his official duty in the afternoon after the raids were over. Talking to newsmen, Mr. Matharoo denied any wrong doing on his part and said the CBI was indulging in witch hunt as no incriminating documents, cash or other recoveries had been made from his residential premises in Greater Kailash II. He said some cash had been recovered from the house of his father who is an income tax payee for the past 20 years and also from the house of his relatives and he cannot be held accountable for that.

Bank accounts

"The CBI has not been able to recover anything from my bank accounts or my personal possession in my name or that of my wife or daughter. I was staying at the house of my sister, Shaloo Malik, who is a MCD Councillor as my house in Greater Kailash was undergoing renovation. I have nothing to hide and my service, as a civil servant for the past 20 years is an open book. I am ready to face any inquiry and some vested interests have managed to set in motion another exercise to harass me and my family but I will emerge stronger from it. I will fight it out in the court of law,'' he added.

Mr. Matharoo got support from political quarters also with the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president, Ram Babu Sharma, asserting that Mr. Matharoo was an honest officer and was being harassed for no reason by his opponents who had been exposed for acts of corruption. However, other senior leaders of the Corporation refused to comment. Reacting to the raids, Mr. Mehta said he had sought a report from the CBI on the issue and would be able to comment on the developments only after that but asserted that his secretary had no role in the mid-day meal scam.

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