NEW DELHI, Jan 24 : Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Branch on Wednesday booked an IAS officer under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly pressurising his subordinate for collecting money from liquor vendors in 2015-16, an official said.
The FIR is registered after the FSL (forensic science lab) examination report established the authenticity of the purported audio clip, where the alleged officer is heard admitting to receive Rs 5 lakh from his subordinate, he said.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had on January 19 directed the registration of an FIR against the officer and recommended disciplinary action against him to the Ministry of Home Affairs after an inquiry was conducted by the vigilance department.
Joint Commissioner of Police (ACB), Madhur Verma, said that a case under Section 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption (POC) Act has been registered against 2009 batch IAS officer Amarnath Talwade.
Verma said it was revealed during the preliminary inquiry taken up by the vigilance department that the alleged conversation is between Talwade, who was then the senior general manager of Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC) Ltd., and his subordinate officer PK Shahi, who was then the manager of DSCSC Ltd. (now retired).
Verma further said the alleged conversation apparently centred on the senior officer exerting pressure on his subordinate to collect more money from retail liquor vendors and a demand of 30 per cent of the total collection with the indirect threat of his transfer.
In the purported audio clip, Talwade also admits to receive Rs 5 lakh from Shahi, he said.
Talwade had told PTI that the charges against him were “baseless and without an iota of truth in it”.
It was alleged in a complaint that the officer had during his stint as senior general manager of the DSCSC in 2015-16 “pressured” a manager of the corporation (now retired) to collect more money from the liquor vendors.
The complaint was filed by a Noida resident on March 21, 2023, along with a pen drive containing the audio clip, with the Directorate of Vigilance. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
