Terror of Unaccounted Vigilance-Part-II: “Paving Road to Perdition!”

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New Paths to Corruption paved by ex-PED/Vigilance

#RKJha, as the #PED-Vigilance, had beaten a new path of #corruption. This was a process of making easy money without any effort and even without an enquiry, just by dangling the threat of an enquiry.

“Man who made Railway Vigilance profitable Venture”

Also Read with: “Terror of Unaccounted Vigilance, Part-I : Paving Road to Perdition!”

He would get #Tender-files picked up by his inspectors from offices of #CAOs/Construction and #COFMOW just when these cases were ready for award of orders. RK Jha’s team would take the file away and tell the officers verbally, imagine that, #verbally, that no order should be placed until the #Bigilance gave a clearance.

This file would be stashed away in the #Vigilance office of #RailBhawan for months causing delay in projects and procurements. The winning #Contractor had his morsel taken away right from his mouth, had his earnest money (#EMD) and possibly security deposit (#SD) too locked up incurring interest. He wasn’t sure when the Vigilance would return the file or whether they would recommend cancellation of the tender.

So, the poor harried contractor would run from the procurement office to Vigilance. The executive officers would express helplessness since the files were taken away by Vigilance. The Vigilance would say that they were still studying the files. Months would pass. Even if the contractor were not willing to pay up, the Vigilance would drop sideways, #verbal hints to the contractor that a few officers would get into vigilance net. This, when conveyed to the officers, they would panic not knowing what could happen to them. Now, the tables are turned – the executive officers would then request the contractor to go and please, please #bribe the agents of #RKJha.

Once the bribe, ranging up to 5-10% of the contract value, were paid by the contractor, the file would be returned to the contracting office with a simple remark, “no abnormality found”. This was a totally new avenue of bribe-taking that #RKJha created, where the bribe to a Railway officer in Vigilance was facilitated by another Railway officer in an Executive department!

An enlightened citizen asked #COFMOW, under the #RTI Act, about the case files thus taken away by Vigilance, held onto them for how long and what action was recommended on them by Vgilance. The citizen was contacted by the COFMOW to kindly withdraw the RTI request since everything was done verbally and they themselves would be held accountable for the delay.

RTI application filed by a vigilante citizen

This is a matter of record and can be investigated into with very little effort. All that the #CVC or #CBI has to do is to get a list of files thus taken away by Vigilace, the period they were held in suspended animation, and when they were returned. In fact, it does not require even the CVC and CBI; it can be done by Executive officers of the #RailwayBoard, #EDs or #Directors, very easily.

Such an enquiry should take the following path:

  1. List of files take away by Vigilance just before contracts were awarded.
  2. How long was each one of them held up.
  3. What internal investigation was done on each file by the Vigilance? Vigilance should be asked to produce copies of file nothings to establish that.
  4. Who finally, in the Vigilance department, decided that there were no abnormalities found? Copies of his speaking orders should be sought.
  5. How much delay was caused by such acts of Vigilance in each case?
  6. What are the financial repercussions of such delays, both to the #Railways and to the #Contractor? This loss should be recovered from the Vigilance officers responsible.

It is certain that a clear pattern will emerge in such an #enquiry to convincingly indict the Vigilance officers. An #FIR should then be filed against them for #Corruption based on these findings. Let them then defend themselves in the Court of Law the way innocent officers and contractors have been defending themselves before an insensitive establishment.

…Contd. as we suggest what should be done by new team of Railway Board Vigilance which appears to be a group of sane and decent people…