Adarsh scam: Two senior government officials arrested

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested two senior government officials in connection with the Adarsh housing society scam.

The two top bureaucrats – senior IAS officer Jairaj Phatak and Maharashtra's former information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari – were earlier detained for questioning by the investigating agency.

Phatak is among the two serving IAS officers who were suspended for their alleged involvement in the Adarsh Housing Society scam. In its status report submitted to the Bombay High Court, the Maharashtra government said Phatak and another IAS officer Pradeep Vyas would be under suspension till completion of the investigations.

The two top bureaucrats were earlier detained for questioning by the investigating agency.

The CBI had alleged in its FIR filed on January 29 that Jairaj Phatak, during his tenure as BMC commissioner, had approved the height of the building to be increased from 97 metres to 107 metres on September 1, 2007.

The seven other accused who were arrested earlier are Pradeep Vyas, a suspended bureaucrat in Maharashtra government; Major General (Retd) TK Kaul; Major General (Retd) AR Kumar; Brigadier (Retd) MM Wanchoo; RC Thakur, a retired defence estates officer, PV Deshmukh, a former Deputy Secretary in the Urban Department and KL Gidwani, a promoter of Adarsh Housing Society.

Meanwhile, the judicial custody granted to the seven arrested has been extended till April 17.PAGE_BREAK

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