Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 10: Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu, Puneet Gupta today directed SSP Vigilance Organization to submit status report with regard to application seeking registration of FIR against Tara Chand, Deputy Chief Minister, Suresh Kumar, Commissioner Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department, Dr Raj Kumar Thappa, Special Assistant to Deputy CM, Prabhu Singh, Kewal Sharma, Vijay Kumar, all PROs to Deputy CM, PK Pole, former VC JDA presently Deputy Commissioner Udhampur, Mubarakh Singh, the then JMC Commissioner presently Deputy Commissioner Samba and S C Sawhney, the then Commissioner JMC, who allegedly conspired and misused their official position to cause massive financial loss to the State exchequer by misusing the official vehicles/ POL contrary to the guidelines issued by Government vide Order No 1123-GAD of 1997 dated July 17, 1997.
After hearing Advocate Zulker Nain appearing for the social activist Prof SK Bhalla, Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu. Puneet Gupta observed, “applicant has approached this Court with the request that he lodged a complaint dated September 14, 2012 seeking registration of FIR under Section 5(2) PC Act read with 120-B RPC with Vigilance Organization against Deputy Chief Minister and others but till date Vigilance has not registered FIR against the high profile persons”.
Upon this, Court after scanning the application as well as the record issued directions to SSP Vigilance Organization Jammu to submit status report in the matter by or before the next date of hearing——October 18, 2012.
In the complaint, it has been mentioned that on having specific inputs about the misuse of Government vehicles by the Deputy Chief Minister and his personal staff and double drawal of POL, the complainant decided to obtain the information under RTI Act and accordingly lodged 11 RTI applications to the various departments under the financial/ administrative control of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand.
In response to RTI application, State Motor Garages informed the applicant that it has placed two vehicles at the disposal of Deputy Chief Minister and State Motor Garages did not provide any fuel to the vehicles. The Jammu Municipal Corporation in reply to RTI submitted information consisting of 663 pages and from that information the applicant came to know as to how the Deputy Chief Minister and his coterie entered into a criminal conspiracy with each other to loot the State exchequer contrary to their entitlement/competence and under the garb of this conspiracy, the vehicles were requisitioned from JMC.
According to RTI reply, a Balero was deployed with effect from March 15, 2010 and Ambassador with effect from March 24, 2011 with the Deputy Chief Minister. It was also divulged in the reply that diesel/ petrol was issued to the vehicles used by the personal section of Deputy Chief Minister after receiving letters/communications issued by the PRO/personal section of Deputy Chief Minister and in this regard the Public Information Officer of Jammu Municipal Corporation furnished 414 letters requesting the issuance of petrol/diesel from JMC.
It was also stated that vehicles were placed at the disposal of Deputy Chief Minister on the directions of Commissioner JMC, firstly on verbal instructions and than by JMC Order No 287 of 2010 dated November 13, 2010.
In the complaint, it has been submitted that from the scanning of the RTI reply furnished by JMC, it transpired that not only two vehicles of JMC were issued the POL from JMC but also for the official vehicles of Deputy Chief Minister, his escort vehicles, the vehicles requisitioned from other departments, under the control of Deputy Chief Minister and last but not the least the official vehicle of Commissioner/ Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department, Suresh Kumar also obtained POL from JMC.
The complainant has given the details of 22 vehicles which were at the disposal of Deputy Chief Minister and his PROs and which took POL from JMC in addition to Administrative Department.
However, as per the Government Order No 1123-GAD of 1997 the concerned Administrative Department of Deputy Chief Minister was to provide Petrol Oil Lubricants to the vehicles provided by State Motor Garages and for security/escort vehicles, the POL is to be taken from the security organization.
It has further been stated that Deputy Chief Minister being not satisfied with the fleet of vehicles provided to him by the State Government requisitioned additional vehicles from JMC, JDA and other departments under his administrative control. It is further stated that the Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer Housing and Urban Development Department vide his RTI reply dated September 27, 2012 clarified that the vehicles attached with Deputy Chief Minister were provided POL right from January, 2009 till date and POL was also provided to the personal staff of Deputy CM.
The Deputy Chief Minister and his coterie not only resorted to double drawal of POL but also requisitioned vehicles from JDA/JMC and other depts in order to nurse the political constituency of Deputy Chief Minister and in this whole process caused massive loss to the State Exchequer.
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