Sumit Kumar Singh By

NEW DELHI: The war between the Kejriwal government and its bête noire, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), has escalated over single vendor clearance given to the ‘Gurgaon-based’ bus aggregator company Shuttl. After State Transport Minister Gopal Rai resigned last week over the Premium Bus Scam, ACB is planning to question the Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC) Vice-Chairman Ashish Khetan next. Sources say it is also investigating whether Shuttl funded the AAP for the upcoming Punjab elections, even before the scheme was approved.

The company had started advertising premium bus services before it even got the contract. No tenders have been floated yet, and the government has issued only the notification. ACB sources said Shuttl raised `108 crore to run the premium bus services in Delhi, even before the cabinet approved the scheme. The state government’s Law and Finance Department was not consulted.

The agency has been engaged in an anti-corruption crusade against the AAP government. It is currently grilling Directorate of Information and Publicity employees as well as investigating the alleged role of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a case, which concerns the granting of Delhi government ads to an outdoor media company, allegedly owned by his relatives.

ACB, headed by Mukesh Kumar Meena, which is probing the Premium Bus Scam, claims the policy to bring the bus services to Delhi was drafted by Rai and the DDC, allegedly at the behest of Shuttl.

ACB chief Meena hinted that AAP legislators and those involved in preparing the cabinet note and its agenda will face interrogators. “We have questioned Transport Commissioner Sanjay Kumar and Transport Minister Gopal Rai in the scam. If needed, they will be questioned again. We have issued summons to five transport officials and have asked them to join probe next week. Many more names have cropped up. We will also question the people who drafted the policy to unearth the entire nexus,” Meena told The Sunday Standard.

“Allegations have been made that the Motor Vehicles Act has been violated, in connivance with a private shuttle company. I can’t comment on their veracity. So far it seems that the policy was made to benefit this company by government officers and powerful private people,” added Meena.

Sources in ACB and Transport Department said even before the second phase of Delhi’s Odd-even traffic scheme was rolled out on April 15, Rai and a few other AAP legislators and leaders were in touch with Shuttl. Investigations have revealed that it is a Bengaluru-based company and runs White Lines services in Delhi, providing pickup and drop services for office-goers. Even before the second Odd-even phase was rolled out, the company mentioned on its website: “We at Shuttl hope to make the second coming of Odd-even oddly even better. (Please excuse the pun. We’re so excited!). We’re adding 31 more routes to an already existing 100 route offering. That is a brilliant 30 per cent increase in routes!”

Khetan and his team purportedly prepared the agenda to bring premium bus services to Delhi in consultation with many bus service providers in February, including Shuttl. The then Transport Secretary Parimal Rai opposed the move, arguing it was against the transport policy and violated Motor Vehicles Act. He tried to convince DDC members and the Transport Minister, but to no avail. A disappointed Rai approached the Ministry of Home Affairs requesting a transfer. In March, he joined as advisor to the Chandigarh government. A 2008-batch IAS officer, Sanjay Kumar, was given additional charge of the department. Kumar complied with state Transport Minister, AAP leaders and legislators. In the meantime, agenda prepared by DDC was presented in Cabinet and approved. Kumar was the first person to be questioned by the ACB.

Sources in ACB said, “The Commission did not consult any stake holder and drafted the policy in violation with Motor Vehicles Act.”

The Premium Bus Service plan was approved by the Delhi state Cabinet without consulting the Finance and Law Department of the Delhi government. ACB says this violates Transaction of Business Rules. The call records of Shuttl’s owners and COOs are being examined to discern from which date the bus company was allegedly in touch with AAP leaders and transport officials.