CBI files case against Satyendar Jain over PWD creative team hiring

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday registered a case against Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain and others in connection with alleged irregularities in hiring of creative teams in the Public Works Department (PWD). The agency also registered case against SK Srivastava, then engineer-in-chief of the PWD.

This came after the CBI conducted searches at Jain’s residence in the national capital. Reacting to the move by the central agency, Jain took to Twitter hitting back at the CBI. He tweeted, "CBI raids my house for hiring creative team by PWD. Professionals were hired for different projects. All were forced to leave by CBI."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue. Retweeting Jain’s post, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief asked, “What does PM Modi want?”

The CBI is probing the role of Jain, Delhi's PWD Minister, in connection with the alleged irregularities in the hiring of professionals in the PWD. The hiring of 24 architects was allegedly done through a detective agency which had no prior experience but was tasked with finding the "best brains" in architecture colleges across the country to be inducted in the creative team of the PWD.

It is alleged that the creative wing floated by the Delhi government on September 1, 2015 was without the requisite approval or knowledge of the Lieutenant Governor. It is also alleged that the hiring of the 24 professionals was done for two years on which Rs 5.74 crore were spent.