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| After raid on TN CS, IT may swoop in on J&K bureaucrats | | Several are already under scanner of anti-graft agencies | | Bharat Bhushan
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 21: After the Wednesday morning raid at the residence of Tamil Nadu chief secretary Rammohan Rao, perhaps the first involving a senior bureaucrat post-demonetisation, inputs suggest that Income Tax (IT) department may also swoop in on some J&K police and civil officers, who have made huge investments in real estate and raised benami properties worth crores. All of them have a tainted past.
Apart from this set of bureaucrats, some politicians are too under the scanner of IT and anti-graft agencies. All these public servants have rock-solid proof of disproportionate assets against them. It's a rags-to-riches story for most of them. They included several, police, IAS and KAS officers.
"The agencies concerned have made their inventory and if things move in the right direction, simultaneous raids may be conducted at their residences," official sources said, alleging that many of them had made huge transactions after the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.
Black money was alleged to have been invested by some in plots and other properties soon after the ban on big currency notes. Others had purchased gold ornaments from the city jewellers, sources alleged.
In one case, termites were said to have eaten up some currency notes of an officer, sources informed.
State Accountability Commission (SAC) and State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) too have registered corruption cases against nine ex-ministers and several top bureaucrats. They are now under the IT scanner. There are other big fishes too who own benami properties worth crores within and outside the state. Huge commercial buildings, palatial houses and big real estate investments by the government servants, including serving and retired employees and ex-ministers, in the city's posh localities of Chhani Himmat, Sainik Colony and Roop Nagar are the rock-solid evidence of their disproportionate assets. They are alleged to have gobbled up government treasuries.
Two retired engineers have raised multi-storey commercial complex in a posh Jammu locality.
A former minister is alleged to be possessing a plot of 4 kanals at Lower Roop Nagar. Those, who are simple clerks in government offices here, have also raised huge wealths. While the government gives them salaries for their services to the people, they take bribe to do their works. "Having managed to remain out of the reach of the agencies so far, things may not be so simple for them this time," sources said.
It is widely felt that a government should not be overcome by the forces of bribery. It has been observed that successive state governments lacked will to take action against the tainted IAS and KAS officers and police officers who have been found involved in scams and misappropriation of government funds.
Nine ex-ministers and a number of top bureaucrats, some of whom are said to be holding plum posts of secretaries, deputy commissioners and heads of departments in the state administration, stand booked by SAC and SVO, according to the information provided by then chief minister Omar Abdullah to the state legislative assembly on February 20, 2014 in reply to the questions of CPI(M)'s M Y Tarigami and PDP's Zulfikar Choudhary.
There are many other government officials, firms, private persons and ex-ministers against whom probes were pending with SAC. It is expected that the government would apply the same yardstick while dealing with the corrupt irrespective of their position in the state administration. This is important for it to strengthen its credibility among the J&K people. Otherwise, there is a risk of the government losing its credibility.
It is felt that the presence of corrupt officers at the helm of affairs is a sure recipe for the disaster of state administration. They need to be cleared out along with the tainted politicians and senior civil and police officers. 63 allegedly tainted officials were terminated by the state government some time back, but these terminations have raised many questions. The list had three tehsildars, four naib-tehsildars, one girdawar, four patwaris and some other lower ranks. It means no officer above the rank of a tehsildar is corrupt in the department which houses some very controversial ACRs, ADCs and DCs. The fact is that the proceeds allegedly collected at the lower level are shared at the higher level which is why no action is taken against patwaris and girdawars whenever someone lodges a complaint of corruption against them. It is also a fact that senior officers are not directly involved in taking a bribe. There is a need to look into their bank transactions and disproportionate assets.
In the police administration, some tainted officers have also been saved from time to time by the department heads. Cases against them are hushed up at the instance of seniors and not taken to their logical ends, but they may face legal action this time.
After the demonetisation of big notes, IT and anti-graft agencies are carrying forward their crusade against corruption. It is hoped that the senior civil and police officers, who have a bad track record, would be finding no escape route this time. |
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