Adarsh scam: CBI raids top bureaucrat’s premises

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Tuesday raided the homes and offices of top bureaucrat Jairaj Phatak in New Delhi and Mumbai in connection with the Adarsh housing society scam, a top official said.

Phatak is a former commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and is presently posted at the central government as additional secretary, Rural Electrification Department.

A team of CBI officials raided his Nariman Point residence in Mumbai and also his residence and offices in Delhi, CBI Western Region Director R.R. Singh said.

“Raids are being conducted in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune,” a CBI source said in the national capital.

Phatak is named as one of the 14 accused in the CBI’s first information report (FIR) filed early February in the Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society scam.

The FIR also named several other bigwigs, including former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan and former Mumbai collector I.A. Kundan, other civil and retired services officers.

The scam claimed the job of the former chief minister after allegations surfaced of collusion between bureaucrats and politicians to corner flats in the 31-storey building constructed on a prime plot in the posh Colaba area of south Mumbai.

The flats in the building were originally meant for Kargil war widows and heroes.