Swarup faces open inquiry by ACB

Though Inamdar refused to either comment or divulge details of the probe, Swarup confirmed that an inquiry was pending against him. Chief Secretary Dinesh Afzalpurkar also said that an inquiry was pending against Swarup.

“Though I do not have details of the case, I know that a case is pending against him. The government will expedite the case, if the ACB has sought its permission,” Afzalpurkar told The Indian Express. A Home Department official said, the charges against Swarup relate to the time when he was Collector of Nashik about 12 years ago.

An inquiry conducted by the department found that the official address of the Nashik Collector as well as Durga Enterprises floated by close relatives of Swarup were identical.

Secondly, it was found that there were “huge” transactions between Durga Enterprises and Nashik-based Sunanda Swarup Enterprises, which had an account in a local nationalised bank. Sunanda is Swarup’s wife. The Sunanda Swarup Enterprises was not a registered company and moreover, it hasn’t been assessed by the Income-Tax department.

On the basis of preliminary information, the ACB sleuths personally called on Swarup to record his statement. However, there was no response from him, the official said. As Swarup was uncooperative, the ACB has sought Government permission to conduct an open inquiry against him, an official said. They also want the government to compel Swarup to make a statement before the ACB.

Swarup has denied the charges saying it was an attempt to malign his clean image. “During my 27 years of service in the Indian Administrative Services, I have never been accused of indulging in corrupt practices,” he said.

Referring to the specific charge, Swarup said he had not amassed wealth disproportionate to his income. “I have filed in annual Income -Tax returns regularly ever since I started working,” he said.

Strongly criticising the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Swarup said it was improper on their part to keep the inquiry pending for so long. “The ACB is investigating a 15-year-old case,” he pointed out.

When his attention was drawn to the activities of the Sunanda Swarup Enterprises, Swarup said that his wife was a separate legal entity and hence “can do the work she wants to. Moreover, there was nothing illegal in that organisation”. Swarup denied charges that he was not cooperating with the ACB officials. “Though there was no official communication, I personally called on the ACB joint director and other officials at their Worli office,” he added.