delhi

Updated: Jun 09, 2017 00:02 IST

Observing that whistleblowers are the eyes and ears of the system, a Delhi court on Thursday told the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) to ensure the safety of a man who filed a complaint against chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and others over alleged irregularities in the grant of contracts for roads and sewer lines in Delhi.

The court’s observation came after the ACB filed a status report saying that there is no threat to the life of complainant Rahul Sharma. However, Sharma’s counsel argued that his client has been “repeatedly attacked” and was under constant threat.

Last week, Sharma was allegedly shot at by two unidentified bikers in Noida. Sharma’s counsel said that an FIR under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC was registered in Greater Noida.

The court posted the matter for the next hearing on June 23. Sharma’s counsel has filed a fresh plea seeking a status report on the three FIRs filed by the ACB on May 8 related to the alleged irregularities in granting the contracts.

During the last hearing, the court, while observing that the attack on whistleblowers is a serious concern, said that the FIR lodged in relation to the recent attack shows that there was serious threat to the security of the complainant. It had then directed the ACB to assess the threat perception to Sharma and file a status report on June 8.

Sharma, the founder of NGO Roads Anti-Corruption Organisation (RACO), is seeking directions to the police to lodge an FIR against Kejriwal, his brother-in-law Surender Bansal, proprietor of a construction firm and a public servant for the alleged Public Works Department (PWD) scam. Bansal has since passed away.

The complainant alleged that Bansal operated through several dummy firms to obtain government contracts with the connivance of several senior PWD officials. He has further alleged in his complaint that documents showing purchase of material were “concocted and forged”, causing a huge loss to the public exchequer.