The AAP on Thursday hit out at the Anti-Corruption Branch for arresting Vinay Bansal, son of Arvind Kejriwal’s brother-in-law, saying the action was aimed at maligning the chief minister’s image and harassing his relatives.

Earlier today, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Bansal in connection with a Public Works Department (PWD) scam, said ACB chief Arvind Deep.

Bansal is a partner in a firm linked to alleged financial irregularities in building a drainage system in north-west Delhi.

“This is nothing but an attempt to malign the chief minister’s image and harass his relatives,” AAP’s Delhi unit chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said. He also rejected allegations of scam in the contract allotted to Bansal’s company.

Three FIRs, including one against a company run by the Chief Minister’s brother-in-law Surender Bansal, who died of heart attack last year, were registered by the ACB in this case on 9 May, 2017. Vinay Bansal was a partner in the firm owned by his father, added ACB official.

In a complaint, Rahul Sharma, founder of Roads Anti-Corruption Organisation (RACO), had alleged that Kejriwal and PWD minister Satyendra Jain misused their office for grant of contracts to Bansal.

It was also alleged that the bills sent to the Public Works Department (PWD) for unfinished works were “false and fabricated”.

Bharadwaj said the contract was given to Bansal’s company in Januray 2015 while Kejriwal came to power a month later.

“There can be only 2 ways of Corruption in PWD drain Construction. Tender was rigged to favour CM relative or Payment was made for sub-standard work or incomplete work. In this case, nothing of this sort happened. Where is the corruption?,” tweeted Bharadwaj.

There can be only 2 ways of Corruption in PWD drain Construction :-

1. Tender was rigged to favour CM relative.

2. Payment was made for sub-standard work or incomplete work.

In this case, nothing of this sort happened. Where is the corruption ?

— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) May 10, 2018

“Contractors are asked to submit bills of material used to ensure that quality of material like steel, cement, bricks. The quality of all this material has been inspected and certified by IIT Roorkee and SriRam Labs. These two are most reputed labs in India. Where is the scam?” he added.

Contractors are asked to submit bills of material used to ensure that quality of material like steel, cemet, bricks.

The quality of all this material has been inspected and certified by IIT Roorkee and SriRam Labs. These two are most reputed labs in India.

Where is the scam?

— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) May 10, 2018

During the investigation, ACB with the help of CPWD had conducted examination of the materials used in the project and sent all their materials to lab for quality check. “The CPWD in their probe found lapses in their project and also in their materials,” said a news report in The Indian Express.

The arrest was made by ACB after their investigators found that fake bills were attached for materials that weren’t even supplied and some of the bills were of companies that do not exist or supply those materials, the report added.

(With agency inputs)