Anti-Corruption Activist Demands Action Against Delhi IAS Officers in Widespread Corruption Scandal

Anti-Corruption Activist Demands Action Against Delhi IAS Officers in Widespread Corruption Scandal

RMN News Report Highlights:

• Anti-corruption activist Rakesh Raman is demanding immediate punitive action against 10 IAS officers in Delhi involved in a widespread corruption scandal.
• Despite repeated directives from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and assurances from the Cabinet Secretariat, no punitive action has been taken against these officers for several years.
• The alleged “Widehouse Corruption Scandal” is described as a citywide construction-cum-corruption and environmental crime, impacting hundreds of thousands of residents.
• Raman points out that India’s ranking on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2024 has dropped to 96th, indicating increasing corruption and categorizing India as a “non-democratic nation” based on its score.

UPDATE: July 24, 2025

The DoPT has responded to the following complaint that I sent on July 3, 2025. With an Office Memorandum dated July 21, 2025, the DoPT has again directed the Cabinet Secretariat to investigate the case of IAS officers of the level of Secretary to the Government of India.

By Rakesh Raman
New Delhi | July 5, 2025

New Delhi, India – Rakesh Raman, a national award-winning journalist and anti-corruption activist, has sent multiple urgent communications to top Indian authorities, including the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Lokpal of India, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, pressing for immediate punitive action against 10 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers implicated in an ongoing citywide corruption scandal.

Despite repeated directives from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for investigation and assurances from the Cabinet Secretariat that the case is “under process,” no punitive action has been taken against the accused officers for several years.

The alleged scandal, also referred to as the “Widehouse Corruption Scandal,” is described as a “citywide construction-cum-corruption scandal including environment crime” that is “depriving hundreds of thousands of residents of their fundamental right to live in a clean, pollution-free environment”.

This report is part of the Clean House initiative, a public service aiming to empower Delhi residents to report corruption and government carelessness affecting their housing and civic life.

[ Also Read: How Criminals Abuse the Legal System in India to Attack Press Freedom ]

Raman claims the criminality of IAS officers is increasing within this scheme, which involves local criminals, corrupt politicians, complicit police officials, dishonest members of the judiciary, and the builders’ mafia. He also states he is a victim, with his house being “broken with lethal construction”.

The 10 IAS officers named in the complaints, who are facing corruption investigations at the DoPT, Cabinet Secretariat, and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), include:

• Mr. Anurag Jain, IAS (MP: 1989), former Vice Chairman, Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
• Mr. Tarun Kapoor, IAS (HP: 1987), former Vice Chairman, DDA.
• Mr. Pankaj Kumar, IAS (AGMUT:2012), District Magistrate (North-East) Delhi.
• Mr. Devinder Singh, IAS (AGMUT:2003), former Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS), Delhi Government.
• Mr. Devesh Singh, IAS (AGMUT: 2008), Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS), Delhi Government.
• Mr. Manish Kumar Gupta, IAS (AGMUT: 1991), Vice Chairman, DDA.
• Mr. Sanjeev Khirwar, IAS (AGMUT:1994), former Chairman, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
• Mr. Virendra Kumar, IAS (AGMUT: 2005), former Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS), Delhi Government.
• Ms. Garima Gupta, IAS (AGMUT:2004), former Secretary (Cooperation), Delhi Government.
• Mr. Tanmay Kumar, IAS (RJ: 1993), Additional Secretary, M/o Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Raman’s latest “reminder” complaint, dated July 3, 2025, follows previous communications from July 21, 2024, and December 17, 2023. He highlights that the DoPT had issued multiple Office Memorandums (dated 10.07.2023, 29.08.2022, 28.06.2022, 05.05.2022, and 09.03.2022) directing the Cabinet Secretariat to investigate this IAS corruption case. Despite these directives and responses from the Cabinet Secretariat indicating the matter is “under process,” no concrete action has been observed.

The journalist warns that “if the corrupt government functionaries keep enjoying impunity, corruption will spread like a pandemic disease” and “India will remain in the category of underdeveloped countries”. He also cited Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2024, released in February 2025, which shows corruption increasing in India, with the country dropping to 96th position (from 93rd last year) with a score of 38 out of 100. The index places India among the world’s most corrupt countries and suggests it is a “non-democratic nation” based on its score, noting that corruption is higher in India than in China.

Rakesh Raman is urging authorities to:

• Immediately suspend all accused IAS officers who are still in service to ensure a fair investigation and prosecution.
• Initiate formal investigation and prosecution against all accused officials, both retired and currently working, to accelerate their conviction and imprisonment.
• Allow him, as the petitioner, to participate in investigation hearings through video conferences to question the accused officials about their alleged collusion with criminals and the builders’ mafia.
• Make all case details public on the Delhi Government website and live-stream investigation hearings.
• Provide him with sufficient security and protection, as he has been receiving “multiple threats including death threats” from criminals involved in the scandal. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) previously directed Delhi Police to protect him, but the case was closed after a “perfunctory and false report”. The Paris-based organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has also urged the Indian government to protect him.

Raman has founded the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation, runs various anti-corruption campaigns, and has published comprehensive reports like the “India Corruption Research Report 2024” (ICRR 2024). He stresses the importance of punishing the corrupt to “weed out corruption from the country” and prevent further tarnishing of India’s international image and jeopardizing relations with other countries.