Register FIR against IAS officer in excise scam, directs Saxena

New Delhi, January 19

Delhi Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena on Friday ordered registration of an FIR and recommended the Home Ministry to take disciplinary action against IAS officer Amarnath Talwade.

He is alleged to have demanded money from liquor vendors at the behest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The officer is currently posted in Arunachal Pradesh with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, officials said.

“During his stint as Senior General Manager of Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd (DSCSC) in 2015-2016, Talwade had put pressure on the then DSCSC Manager (retd) PK Shahi, to collect more money from vendors and threatened to transfer him otherwise. The action came after an audio clip of the two officers’ telephonic conversation came to the fore. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) had later authenticated it as genuine and un-doctored,” the officials added.

A Raj Niwas official said, “In the audio clip, Talwade had admitted to have received Rs 5 lakh from Shahi, soon after taking charge of the DSCSC.”

In the recording, Talwade is heard demanding 35 per cent (of the total collection) which he had committed to Kejriwal. Shahi is heard telling Talwade that he could arrange only 15 per cent of the amount, an official said.

The official said that a Noida resident had filed a complaint in this regard in March 2023 and submitted a pen drive containing the audio clip to the Directorate of Vigilance.

The complainant alleged that the conversation between an IAS officer and an Inspector pertained to “sharing of booty” in some excise matters. After preliminary investigation, the Directorate of Vigilance ascertained that the said IAS officer was Amarnath Talwade and the other subordinate officer was PK Shahi.

On the directions of the Chief Secretary, the Directorate of Vigilance sent the audio clip to the FSL, Delhi. According to the examination report submitted in November 2023, there was no indication of any form of alteration in the audio recording, the officials said.

Another official said, the matter was referred to the Law Department, which opined that the case was fit for registration of an FIR and the information provided by the source was not “vague or cryptic or lacked essential details”. The information related to the commission of a cognisable offence.