Swati Maliwal questioned for ‘irregularities’

The anti-corruption branch on Thursday questioned Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal at her office for over two hours for alleged irregularities in recruitment in the women’s panel. A five-member team of the ACB visited the DCW office around 3 pm and interrogated Ms Maliwal on 27 queries, said a senior ACB officer.

Ms Maliwal was served a notice by the ACB on September 21 that she will be interrogated on Septe-mber 29. “Ms Maliwal has submitted a written reply that runs into 20 pages to the questionnaire that she was given on September 19 by the ACB officers who had interrogated her. The questionnaire had 27 queries and Ms Maliwal’s answers will be analysed and further investigation will be carried out in the matter,” he said.

The ACB had taken up the probe on a complaint by former DCW chief Barkha Shukla Singh, who alleged that several AAP supporters were given plum posts in the women’s panel. After the questioning, Ms Maliwal, in a series of tweets, said that she has “nothing to hide” and will “cooperate in the investigation”.

“ACB questioned me on 27 points. Gave them all information. Have nothing to hide. Will cooperate in investigation. Not scared even of jail (sic),” she tweeted.

She wrote that she is not scared of going of jail. “Even if I am sent to jail, I will continue my fight against the ‘unjust syst-em’ to seek empowerment of women,” she tweeted.

Ms Singh, in her complaint, had listed the names of 85 people who, she claimed, got jobs “without requisite credentials”.

The ACB had been probing the matter for the last two-three months and based on the questioning of Ms Maliwal’s employees, it was found that due procedure “was not followed in appointments”, and an FIR under relevant section of Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the IPC was registered against the women’s panel chief.

The ACB will also be questioning some Delhi government officials and the complainant will also be questioned again to se-ek clarity on some points, said the ACB officer.