A Delhi Assembly panel probing an alleged ₹100 crore scam in a government-run cooperative bank may recommend “strict action”, which may also include a jail term, for officials who are found guilty, said the committee’s member and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj on Thursday.
The report of the Questions and Reference Committee recommending the said action will be tabled in the upcoming budget session of the Delhi Assembly, which will begin on March 16, he added.
The panel is probing an alleged scam in Delhi Nagrik Sehkari Bank and had called three senior government officials, including Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, registrar of societies J. B. Singh and his predecessor Shurbir Singh, for hearing on Thursday but the said officials did not turn up.
The panel, including its chairman Rakhi Birla, and MLA members Saurabh Bhardwaj and Akhilesh Tripathi, registered a strongly-worded disapproval over the continuing absence.
Absent officials
Mr. Prakash has approached the Delhi High Court to prevent his summoning by the committee following which he was given relief even as the other two officials concerned remain, reportedly, on leave.
“The panel has had 16 to 17 meetings so far but they (the officials summoned) evade these meetings; I certainly feel that report of the committee should now be submitted to the House,” Mr. Bhardwaj said.
The Greater Kailash MLA said that the panel may recommend jail terms for officials linked to the scam.
The Assembly may, Mr. Bhardwal said, use its power to initiate proceedings against the officers.
The panel had launched its probe in the alleged scam after a question by Mr. Tripathi — asked by him in the Delhi Assembly — did not yield a “satisfactory answer” in January 2017.
The alleged irregularities in the bank came to light in 2013, after complaints were filed with the registrar of cooperative societies and the Reserve Bank of India, regarding fraudulent loans.
