Removed AIIMS official to demand CBI inquiry

A day after Sanjeev Chaturvedi was removed from the post of chief vigilance officer (CVO) of AIIMS, a source Thursday said the officer was likely to demand a CBI inquiry into his removal.

Chaturvedi, a 2002 batch Indian Forest Service officer of the Haryana cadre, was Wednesday removed from the post, much before the completion of his tenure.

Viswas Mehata, a 1986 batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, was appointed the new CVO for three months.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has defended Chaturvedi's removal, saying the officer's name was not approved by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) which made him ineligible for the post.

However, a source close to Chaturvedi said that AIIMS on the directions of the health ministry had cleared Chaturvedi's name for the post and his name was then displayed on the official website of the CVC as CVO, AIIMS.

"Then health secretary P.K. Pradhan had given a specific commitment before the parliament committee on June 8, 2012 that Chaturvedi would be appointed as the CVO," the source told IANS.

"Accordingly, orders were issued by AIIMS on July 7, 2012, making him the CVO, and this was intimated to the ministry and the CVC. The name of the officer is since then being displayed on the CVC official website as CVO, AIIMS," the source said on condition of anonymity.

In all the correspondences the CVC addressed Chaturvedi as CVO, AIIMS, for the past two years, and accepted all his reports in the capacity of CVO and never objected to them, the source added.