Indian Express: Mumbai: Wednesday, July 16, 2014.
Coming down
heavily on Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria, the state Chief Information
Commissioner has raised doubts about whether he was trying to hide some
information on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks by withholding and providing
misleading information about the call logs of wireless conversations between
the police control room and slain IPS officer Ashok Kamte’s van on the day he
died.
In a recent
order, state’s Chief Information Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad has also asked
the state government to institute a commission of inquiry into the entire
incident, to look into why misleading information was provided in an incident
of such prominence as the 26/11 terror attacks.
Vinita Kamte,
the wife of Ashok Kamte, had filed an RTI application in 2009 seeking log
records of the south Mumbai police channel. The information was allegedly
denied. Kamte then appealed and subsequently information was provided, but
there were serious discrepancies in the information given to her on November
2009 and February 2010.
“Prima facie,
misleading information has been given in this case. There has been a malafide
denial of information, information has been destroyed and obstacles have been
created in presenting the information. The Commission agrees with all these
issues brought forth by the complainant,” Gaikwad said in his judgment dated
July 9.
The
Commission, as per Section 11 (8) of the RTI Act, has now ordered the state
government to institute a judicial inquiry. “As per a letter dated April 2009,
Rakesh Maria, the then joint police commissioner (Crime), had denied
information (to Vinita Kamte) under Section 8 (1) (G) of the RTI Act 2005. It
is very irresponsible and gives reason for suspicion on whether he was trying
to hide something. In view of the nature of the incident and its seriousness,
if an impartial inquiry is not done, the public or Vinita Kamte will never get
to know the truth,” Gaikwad said.
In her letter
to the Commission, Kamte had alleged that her late husband had requested for
help from Maria, who was heading the police control room at the time. However,
Maria allegedly did not send help. Kamte also alleged that to cover this up,
Maria had instructed the public information officer to not provide her
information.
Later, Kamte
also claimed she was given two completely different call log records from the
south control room. The state had, meanwhile, submitted a different call record
in the charge-sheet it filed in the case.
At the
Commission, Kamte’s lawyers pointed out that there was a difference of over six
minutes in these different logs. They also alleged manipulations in the call
records and the hard disk of the main voice logger was not retained. The
Commission had subsequently asked additional chief secretary (home) Amitabh
Rajan to conduct an inquiry.
Following the
probe, Rajan sent a report stating that the discrepancies existed only in the
call logs given to Kamte, but not in the “original contents” of the call
records. Kamte had subsequently questioned Rajan’s report, to which the SIC had
asked him to clarify. In its scathing three-page order, the Commission has
criticised both Maria and Rajan, saying they also refrained from attending the
hearings, which showed how serious they were about the entire incident.
The
Commission has also trashed the report submitted by Rajan. “He did not conduct
the inquiry but relied on the findings of officers who were themselves under
the scanner to submit the report to the Commission. This is a very serious
matter and he is guilty of contempt of the Commission’s order. Such behaviour
does not befit such a senior bureaucrat,” Gaikwad said in his order.
Maria and
Rajan were not available for comment.
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