Monday, August 25, 2014

‘RTI activist’ used date and time as code for bribe: ACB chargesheet

Indian Express: New Delhi: Monday, 25 August 2014.
At least a thousand audio recordings have been recovered from the mobile phones of motor parts dealer-turned-‘RTI activist’ Anil Dutt Sharma, who was arrested in June this year.
Of these, 200 have been identified as conversations between Sharma and MCD officials. The remaining are yet to be examined. This was mentioned in the 650-page chargesheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government earlier this week.
Sharma, who was arrested on June 24, was caught red-handed at a restaurant in Seelampur, accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a builder. He would pose as a Junior Engineer in the MCD and target builders carrying out illegal construction in East, Northeast and South Delhi. Khushi Ram, a Junior Engineer, was also arrested last week.
According to the chargesheet, 40 witnesses have been examined by the ACB. The ACB has stated that the role of MCD officials was “being probed”.
Following Sharma’s arrest, at least 75 junior engineers, assistant engineers and senior officials of the MCD have come under the scanner of the investigating agency.
In the chargesheet, the ACB stated that apart from the three FIRs registered against Sharma at the ACB after his arrest, nine more have been registered at police stations including one at Seelampur, two at Bhajanpura, two at Mansarovar Park and three at GTB Enclave.
The investigating agency also stated that Sharma would speak to the builders and MCD officials using code words. One such conversation mentioned in the chargesheet shows how Sharma used date and time as codes for seeking bribe. “Ek baje ko milna (meet me at 1 pm),” is one such conversation mentioned in the chargesheet.
The ACB said a conversation stating the words “ek tareek se kaam” refers to Sharma seeking a bribe of Rs 1 lakh. The chargesheet also mentions that if the builders refused to pay, he would say, “Agar nahi hua, toh ek tareek se zyada ho jayega”, indicating he would seek a bigger bribe.