Asha Kiran Deaths: Delhi Minister Questions LG For Appointing 'Bribe-Tainted' Officer As Shelter Home Administrator

AAP questions Delhi LG over the appointment of a bribery-accused officer as administrator of Asha Kiran shelter home, where 14 died.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) questioned Lt Governor VK Saxena on Saturday about an officer who was previously "suspended" for allegedly taking bribes, but appointed as administrator of the Asha Kiran shelter home where 14 inmates died in July. Senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed during a press conference that the administrator of the shelter home 'Rahul Agarwal' was arrested by the CBI in 2016 for taking a "bribe" and had been suspended for five years.

"I want to know on what ground the LG appointed Rahul Agarwal as administrator of the shelter home where various irregularities and shortcomings have been reported after extraordinarily large number of deaths of intellectually changed persons," he said, as quoted by news agency PTI.

He questioned the L-G for taking no action so far against the shelter home administrator and the social welfare department secretary in the matter. The AAP leader stressed that the power of transfer and posting of officers was under the L-G's discretion through the Services department.

Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj Lashes Out On Deaths In Old Rajinder Nagar, East Delhi

The Delhi Minister also took a dig at the action that had not been taken against any MCD or DDA officer in other cases of deaths in Old Rajinder Nagar and East Delhi. Furthermore, he questioned action not being taken against the chief secretary for not providing a report on the third-party audit of drain desilting.

AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak, speaking at the press conference, stated that the deaths at Asha Kiran were a significant blot on society. "We got information around two to three days ago that 14 people have died there because they were not given proper water, food, and medical facilities," he alleged.

Pathak reiterated that Agarwal had been arrested by the CBI in a corruption case and raised a question of why the LG had appointed Agarwal to the shelter home despite this knowledge. He demanded to publicise the vigilance report on Agarwal.

After visiting the Asha Kiran shelter home, AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar said told news agency ANI, "We saw a lot of negligence inside...We interacted with the kids...We demand that Delhi LG should take action against such officers...Officers have committed a lot of negligence...The complaints of the supporting staff were ignored...The committee will prepare a report...The video of the condition inside the shelter home will also be released by the committee..."

The Delhi government on Friday ordered a magisterial investigation into the deaths of 14 inmates at the Asha Kiran shelter home in Rohini last month. The L-G also directed an investigation into the operations of the Delhi government’s shelter homes, including the deaths at the Asha Kiran, describing the deaths as "an act of criminality against the most disadvantaged".