Staff crunch hits anti-graft branch's work

NEW DELHI: The anti-corruption branch of Delhi Police, which is dealing with several high-profile cases, is suffering a severe shortage of experienced investigators and senior officers. In fact, it does not have a single ACP on its rolls at present. Sensitive cases are being handled by inspectors, sub-inspectors and head constables.

The unit chief, Addl CP V Renganathan, has been on leave since Monday, the day the Delhi government decided to pursue a complaint in what it terms a gas pricing scam.

The one ACP, S S Gill, who had been transferred to the unit in the first week of January along with seven inspectors, was shunted out last week. Gill, was one of the policemen whom the Kejriwal government had demanded for the ACB in January, a source said.

ACPs Balwant Singh, Ramphal Singh and Ravinder Tyagi have also been shunted out on undisclosed grounds. Around 20 inspectors are left in the unit, sources said.

Among more senior officers, additional commissioner G C Dwivedi and DCP A S Cheema were asked to leave the branch after differences reportedly arose between them and the CM in a meeting. The two left on February 5.

Within two days of becoming CM, Kejriwal had demanded that vacancies in the unit be filled up. He had even named the policemen he wanted transferred to the unit. Kejriwal had requested the LG to replace five senior IPS officers in January. He had sought appointment of IPS officer Praveer Ranjan who was joint commissioner of EOW that time but had a pending transfer to Pondicherry.

However, the transfer never took place. While sources in the police said Ranjan opted out of joining the ACB and instead requested the home ministry to send him to Pondicherry, AAP sources said the Union home ministry never wanted him to join the unit.