New Delhi, June 2: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung locked themselves in a fresh tussle over the joining of five Bihar policemen in Delhi's anti-corruption bureau.

After it emerged that three inspectors and two sub-inspectors of the Bihar police had joined the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) "on loan", Jung's office announced, "The ACB Delhi, being a police station, functions under the authority, control and supervision of the lieutenant governor, a position that has been clarified by the Union ministry of home affairs vide notification No. 1,368(E), dated May 21, 2015. The office of the lieutenant governor has so far not received any proposal for the deputation of such personnel from outside the Delhi police."

The Bihar government released six officers for the assignment in Delhi, including three inspectors Zakir Hussain, Santosh Kumar and Hare Krishna Mandal and two sub-inspectors Bipin Kumar Singh and Sanjay Kumar. It also released deputy superintendent of police Sanjay Bharti, but he had not taken up the new assignment till Tuesday evening.

Senior Delhi government executives, including deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, refused to answer queries on the procedure followed to deploy the Bihar cops.

A senior bureaucrat told The Telegraph that the Delhi government was confusing vigilance with corruption investigations. "Vigilance looks into inordinate delay of files, funny behaviour of an officer that maybe for extortion or interpreting procurement rules to benefit someone. The ACB files criminal charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Their posts are created on the strength of the Delhi police, which send officers on deputation. They report to the lieutenant governor through the chief secretary."

He added: "The Delhi police always depute officers for sanctioned vacancies and never have we needed to take people on loan from other states. The whole episode has happened because the government is trying to exercise power through the backdoor and at the same time create a perception that they are being prevented from doing their job." Last week, the AAP government came under criticism for trying to play "big brother" after it emerged that a proposal was floated to buy surveillance equipment worth Rs 36 crore for the ACB.

Additional reporting by Ramashankar