NEW DELHI: Having no say in the functioning of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) under his own government after Joint Commissioner of Police Mukesh Kumar Meena took over the anti-graft wing, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has decided to come up with a new spy unit under its Vigilance Department.
The spy wing will keep tabs on government departments, autonomous bodies, institutions and other entities under the Delhi government’s jurisdiction.
The decision to create the unit was taken at a Cabinet meeting headed by Kejriwal in the first week of this month and a resolution was passed. “A need has been felt to improve the monitoring mechanism of activities of various departments in vigilance related matters. Therefore, a unit may be created in the Directorate of Vigilance manned by serving as well as retired personnel to gather relevant information and actionable feedback regarding the working of the departments/autonomous bodies/institution etc, falling under the jurisdiction of the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi,” stated the resolution.
The Cabinet directed Vigilance Department Principal Secretary Chetan B Sanghi to come up with a proposal for the Chief Minister.
Sources said the spy unit will comprise 50-60 retired officials and staff from the Vigilance Department. Preference will be given to retired officials who have worked in law enforcement agencies or with intelligence agencies. Retired officials running detective agencies will be the first preference. They will be equipped with spy cameras and other spying tools. People working with Delhi Police, Anti-Corruption Branch, Delhi Development Authority and municipal corporations will also be under the radar of the spy unit.
If the ACB fails to act against tainted officials, the spy unit will post the videos and audios on social networking sites.
The decision for the spy unit was taken after the AAP government’s repeated failure to take control of the ACB headed by Meena, who reports directly to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. “A decision for the specialised cell was taken as the ACB failed to stop corruption. The Vigilance Department was directed to come up with a proposal about the unit. Two or three models are being deliberated by the department,” said a source.