Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal on Thursday said the Anti-Corruption Bureau was "free to interrogate, question and arrest", after it conducted raids at the women's panel's office. Maliwal took to Twitter and emphasised that she has "done nothing wrong". She said, "If ACB and bosses feel that I will be scared and silenced through this, they are wrong. DCW will continue to voice the pain of the 'Nirbhayas' of Delhi," referring to the December 16 gangrape victim.
ACB officials searched the DCW office after Barkha Shukla Singh, a former chief of the commission and an ex-legislator of the Congress, filed a complaint that accused Maliwal of resorting to "nepotism and favouritism" in the appointment of DCW staff. The officials said they conducted searches to seize documents related to the complaint, PTI reported.
Singh also alleged that Maliwal gave a number of Aam Aadmi Party supporters key positions in the commission. However, the DCW chairperson denied the allegation, saying, "Three acid attack victims, two orphans from Nari Niketan [Trust] and several victims [have] been appointed. All due processes were followed."
Earlier, Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung had also asked for an inquiry into recent appointments at the DCW, after reports said that a majority of the commission's staff were Aam Aadmi Party workers.
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