| Font Size |
In one instance, DGP Ram withdrew Rs 5.60 crore in cash from the Secretariat branch of the State Bank of India on March 16, 2006 — a fortnight before he gave the withdrawal and disbursal power to the Additional DGP.
With the AG raising objections, Chief Secretary A K Basu has written to Ram: “DAG has raised certain objections regarding non-observance of provisions of Special Branch Manual and Bihar Financial Rules regarding Secret Service Expenditure. The objections are very serious in nature and it needs to be examined thoroughly. Please send a detailed up-to-date report regarding the steps taken by you in this matter so that further course of action can be decided upon.”
Money from the SS fund, according to Rule 4 of the Special Branch Manual (SBM), was to go to “informers who have given or are likely to give useful information of a secret nature, and whose identity must not be disclosed.” Jharkhand is one of the states worst hit by Naxal violence with large swathes under the control of ultra-Left extremists who regularly target police, politicians and the railways.
Although the SBM states that the Secret Service Expenditure (SSE) account is not subject to scrutiny by an audit authority, the Bihar Financial Rules (BFR), which still apply in Jharkhand, make it clear that “in respect of each officer authorized to incur secret service expenditure, Government will nominate a controlling officer who should conduct at least once in every financial year, a sufficiently real administrative audit of the expenditure incurred and furnish a certificate to the Accountant General”.
Copies of official documents in possession of The Indian Express show that the following withdrawals were made from the treasuries:
• July 2005: Rs 2.60 crore vide voucher no. 0092 from Doranda.
• March 2006: Rs 5.60 crore vide voucher no. 0025 from Secretariat.
• May 2006: Rs 60 lakh vide voucher no. 0080 from Doranda.
• June 2006: Rs 88.50 lakh vide voucher no. 0061from Doranda.
• May 2007: Rs 1 crore vide voucher no. 0082 from Doranda.
• September 2007: Rs 1 crore vide voucher no. 0044 from Doranda.
• March 2008: Rs 2.50 crore vide voucher no. 0021 from Doranda.
• Total withdrawal: Rs 14,18,50,000.
For none of these withdrawals, documents mandated by law were submitted to the AG and the amounts have been placed in the “objection” category and are being treated as outstanding against the officer(s) who made the withdrawals.
AG Rakesh Kumar Verma was not available for comment but Deputy AG M Roy Malakar pointed out: “It is a matter of concern that in spite of reminders, the provisions of the Special Branch Manual and Bihar Financial Rules are not being followed by the police department and the requisite documents mandated by these rules and manual have not been furnished to this office.”
Jharkhand follows the Bihar practice where the withdrawal and disbursal officer of the SSE fund is the Additional DGP, Special Branch and the Chief Secretary conducts an administrative audit and furnishes a utilization certificate to the AG.
Chief Secretary Basu did not conduct an administrative audit nor furnish the utilization certificate. Plus DGP Ram withdrew Rs 5.60 crore in cash from the Secretariat branch of the SBI on March 16, 2006 — a fortnight before Ram gave ADGP G S Rath the withdrawal and disbursal power on April 1, 2006 though Rath had been on the post since August 21, 2005.
Given this backdrop, Malakar drew the attention of the state government, stating that in accordance with the BFRs “a sufficiently real administrative audit” of secret service funds should have been done and a certificate furnished to the AG.
“This was not done. In view of the huge amounts involved and the inordinate delay in submission of the requisite documents, the possibility of fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation of government funds cannot be ruled out. In view of the seriousness of the matter, it is requested that immediate action may be taken to investigate the matter and ensure that the rules governing the accounting of the secret service funds are followed scrupulously,” Malakar wrote to Basu on June 17.
When contacted, DGP Ram, a recipient of the President’s police medal for meritorious service and another for distinguished service, said the utilization certificate was not furnished because the state government had not nominated any controlling officer. “The state government has been requested to do the needful to ensure compliance of the administrative audit provision,” he said.
Discuss this story on expressindia forums
|
|
The Indian Express has done its duty. Let us see what happens now. With the parliament in session and the state under President's rule, stalwarts from the state like Yashwant Sinha should raise this matter and compel the government to order a probe.
I hope the Judiciary takes notice of such corruption and orders a probe. The Accountant General deserves to be congratulated.
The record of the Congress party in tackling corruption by the high and the mighty has never been good. Nothing came out of the Bofors or the Narsimha Rao bribery scandal. Shibu Soren in fact was rewarded and made CM. So I don't think anything would happen to Ram and his cohorts. They will be able to bribe their way out.
I cannot express my anguish in words. This is preposterous. The DGP should be punished on the same lines as an army officer if he pockets the funds given to him for fighting the enemy. Only then the crooks like him would learn.
Let us see what does our lawyer Home Minister does, who when out of a job, dons his black coat and appears in the Supreme Court. I am sure he will take appropriate action aginst the people responsible for this murky episode.
The Home Minister is known as a suave, urbane, honest and intelligent person. I am sure he will take immediate action aginst the officers involved in this scam. In a way its good that the state is under President's rule otherwise crooks like Ram would have got away by bribing the politicians who depend upon the police for help during the elections.
The story makes one puke. One more episode of corruption by those whose duty it is to ensure a corruption free society. Unless we as citizens wake up, it will keep on happening. I hope it generates enough heat and debate in Parliament so that the Congress Government is forced to act and punish the fellows involved.
One comes across several cases where powerful bureaucrats, politicians and businessmen indulge in corruption and get away with it. The media highlights such cases, but no action is taken. This is really disgusting. I only hope that in view of the fact that funds for fighting naxals was siphoned away, the government takes immediate action.
Swift action by the Government is the call of the day. Let the government investigate the matter quickly and if prima facie the DGP is found guilty, he should be suspended till the full enquiry is completed.
This is really reprehensible. The Govt. should act quickly to bring the guilty to book. The crooks should not be allowed to go away because they are the topmost sarkari babus.
Kudos to Indian Express. You have done it again. Crooks like Akhand Pratap Singh and V.D.Ram can not survive if newspapers like Indian Express are there. I hope the Government is not bought off by these crooks and an impartisl investigation is carried out.
Decentralization of democracy has its negative features as well. In panchayats, the goons capture the local self govt institutions and in state people like Ram can get away with anything because they are in influential positions in the state government. If a constable is caught taking a bribe, he is suspended by the SP without a second thought. What about Ram, who as head of police force has gobbled up crores of rupees. What action is taken against people like him will tell us where our democracy is headed.
This episode again shows the need of independence of institutions. If the accountant general had been independent of the state government, it would not have been possible for him to unearth this scam. This shows the need to make other institutions, apart from the judiciary and the CAG, which are already so, independent of the executive. The formost of these should be the CBI and the State Vigilance Department. Of course Ram should be punished for his misdeeds, but this may only be the tip of an iceberg.
As a police officer, my head hangs in shame. Its a sacrilege. The Government should take immediate action to investigate the matter and take action against the guilty. As it is, the stock of police is not high in public eye and it will plummet further if such allegations are levelled. A thorough probe and swift administrative action are the call of the day.
This kind of March loot is common in all departments. How can Rs 5.6 crores be spent in 15 days. The money should be recovered from the DGP immediately if he can not produce evidence of having spent it for the legitimate purpose. The Governor should take immediate action.
The person entrusted with the job of catching thieves has himself committed the theft. If this is not punished, there is no hope for our society. Ram must be held accountable for the money withdrawn by him. It is the money which belongs to the public. The Government should place him under suspension and conduct an enquiry by a High Court judge.
This is like the shepherd eating the herd. If the Congress government, which is ruling the state through the Governor, is serious in tackling corruption, it should prove its bonafide by instituting an independent enquiry and punishing the guilty.
I remember when I was a student in Delhi, the power supply to the Indian Express was cut off. Those were the days of the imposition of Emergency. But the Indian Express could not be intimidated. You have always been a saga of journailsm of courage. My congratulations for exposing the misdeeds of the seniormost police officer in Jharkhand. Governemnt should immediately suspend the officer and hand over the investigation to CBI.
Now we know the real reason for intelligence failure and why the local police cannot get information from the local populace about their whereabouts. Whereas the naxalites liberally give money to the local youth, the district police is starved of funds because all the money is looted by the senior officers. The Home Minister should immediately institute an enquiry and punish the guilty
Embezzlement of funds has become a norm rather than exception in Bihar and Jharkhand. We had the famous Fodder Scam, the Bitumen Scam and now the Secret Service Fund scam. One only hopes that those responsible for siphoning off public money for private gains are brought to book.
Indian Express has always been a pioneer in exposing corruption in high places and it had done so again. The Govt. should immediately order a judicial enquiry and the culprits should not be allowed to go scot free in the name of secrecy.
Indiam Express has always been a pioneer in breaking news ragarding corruption in high places and it has done it again. Normally only the petty thieves get caught. A constable or a sales tax inspector is caught on camera and suspended while the high and mighty go scot free. The Government would do well to institute a judicial enquiry into the matter. During the pendancy of the enquiry, the perpetrators of the crime should be suspended and prevented from destroying evidence.
Now that the new Home minister is not only qualified advocate but also an accountant, the rats would find it difficult to mask the murky deals. No wonder naxalite issue was never tackled with seriousness and concerned officials enjoyed in the name of war fare. They have atken it for granted that no one would question them and sadly now fate is frowning in their faces.
This is a very serious matter. Hats off to Indian Express for breaking such a story. The charges amount to literally treason. It is not a case of simple embezzlement of funds. The perpetrators of this crime, which include the head of the police force, should be immediately suspended and sent to jail, if the charges are found prima facie true. The investigation should be carried out by CBI because the state police can not carry out any investigation against the DGP.