AAP raps L-G for deaths at shelter home; Raj Niwas puts onus on CM

Delhi Minister questions L-G's appointment of suspended officer at Asha Kiran shelter home; L-G office denies involvement.

Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Saturday questioned Lieutenant-Governor V.K Saxena why he appointed a previously suspended officer as the administrator of the Asha Kiran shelter home where 14 inmates died last month.

In response, Raj Niwas described the Minister’s statement as “blatantly wrong and arrogantly misleading”.

In a statement, the L-G office said Mr. Saxena had no role in the appointment as the officer was appointed “internally” by the Social Welfare Department, which is a “totally transferred subject under the control of the Chief Minister and the Minister in-charge”.

Rahul Agarwal, a Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Island Civil Services (DANICS) officer, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for taking a “bribe” in 2016. He remained suspended for five years.

At the time of his arrest, Mr. Agarwal was posted as the SDM, Saraswati Vihar. He was appointed the shelter home administrator on February 15, 2021.

Mr. Bharadwaj said, “I want to know on what grounds the L-G appointed Rahul Agarwal as the administrator of the shelter home from where various irregularities and shortcomings have been reported after an extraordinarily large number of deaths of people with intellectual disability.”

He asked why Mr. Saxena did not take action against the administrator and the Social Welfare Department Secretary. Saying that the power of transfer and posting of officers lies with the L-G, Mr. Bharadwaj held Mr. Saxena responsible for the deaths.